Two recent letters to the editor have criticized the Butler Eagle for not emphasizing that Cody Fend and Lexi Smith are receiving umbilical cord stem cells rather than embryonic stem cells for treatment for optic nerve hypoplasia. While it is undisputable that all types of stem cell therapies and research are exciting and offer hope, the recent letter by Patricia Henricks labels embryonic stem cell research as "hype". Nothing could be further from the truth. While most therapeutic advances have occured with adult and umbilical cord stem cells, it is important to continue using embryonic stem cells to push this field forward. Embryonic stem cells, as ultimate progenitor cells, offer the best potential to glean information about all types of stem cells and their therapeutic potential. It is absurd that people object to this research done on discarded embryos slated for destruction.