Wisconsin ? Leaders of national embryonic stem cell banks in the United States and the United Kingdom pledged Monday to coordinate efforts to promote research, create international standards and more efficiently distribute each other’s cells.

The officials said they hoped the efforts were the beginning of a long partnership between the banks, the National Stem Cell Bank in Madison, Wis., and the U.K. Stem Cell Bank near London.

Scientists believe stem cell research may eventually lead to treatment and perhaps cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s and juvenile diabetes. Some people oppose the research because days-old embryos – usually left over from fertility treatments – are destroyed in the effort to isolate the cells.