WASHINGTON, Oct. 3(Xinhuanet)-- The US National Institutes of Health announced Monday the establishment of a national stem cell bank at the University of Wisconsin, where human embryonic stem cells were first isolated.

The national bank will provide many of the batches of human embryonic stem cells that are federally approved and funded for research. The stem cell lines had existed before August 2001 when President George W. Bush banned federal funds in the use of stem cells from the other sources.

"The National Stem Cell Bank, awarded to the WiCell Research Institute in Wisconsin, will consolidate many of the federally funded eligible human embryonic stem(ES) cell lines in one location, reduce the costs that researchers have to pay for the cells, and maintain quality control over the cells," the NIH said in a statement.

The NIH said it would also fund two centers of embryonic stem cell research at the University of California and Davis and Northwestern University in Chicago.

The NIH will provide 16.1 million US dollars over four years for the stem cell bank and 9.6 million dollars for the research centers.

"This resource will enable us to fully analyze, characterize and control the quality of approved cell lines," said NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni in a statement.

Embryonic stem cells can develop into any kind of body cells and scientists believe they have the potential to grow into whatever cells needed for the treatment of spinal injuries and diseases like the Parkinson's and diabetes. Some people oppose the use of these stem cells because it has to kill human embryos to obtain them. Enditem