California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is the organization responsible for providing state government funds and grants for advancing stem cell research and regenerative medicine. It was established as the major product of California Proposition 71, otherwise known as the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.

Stem cell research in the United States has been a controversial issue since the 1990s, after the development of methods to culture human embryonic stem cells from the inner cell mass of early embryos and gonadal ridges of aborted fetuses. In response to these developments, Congress amended laws for regulating the National Institutes of Health with a provision known as the Dickey Amendment. The amendment prohibited use of federal funds to be used for the “creation of human ...