With the passing of President Reagan, media attention has turned to stem cell research.  I'm wondering if there is any value in writing letters drawing attention to the living qualities in breast milk.  I'm no scientist nor activist.  I do enjoy writing letters.  I'm wondering if this would be worthwhile.  

I understand that breast milk contains stem cells.  Is this true?  What are the ethical implications of harvesting stem cells from mother's milk, as a renewable resource?  Have studies been done on milk as a source for this type of research?

Taking colostrum from mothers seems very risky--that should all go into baby for building the immune system.  Robbing cord blood also seems dangerous--and can lead to anemia in babies I believe.  But for mothers who produce ample supplies of milk, could donated milk serve science?  Might mothers who would otherwise feed formula be interested in breastfeeding if they knew that their baby would get stem cells via mother's milk to prevent disease--and that they could donate pumped milk to benefit others?

Can connections be drawn between stem cells passed on by breastfeeding and reduction of rates of disease (ie diabetes, obesity, even Altzheimer's)?

It seems to me to be a good moment to give breastfeeding credit for preventing some of these mysterious diseases, and point to breast milk as a valuable source of stem cells.  

Let me know if you think writing to Nancy Reagan, President Bush, my representatives in congress, the American Diabetes Association, Alzheimer's funds, etc., on this might be beneficial or harmful to promoting and advocating for breastfeeding.

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