Panel Releases New Embryoic Stem Cell Research Guidelines
No longer just a plot in the movies, scientists can now merge species, such as Alba the florescent bunny. Not only that, but they can merge man and animals, man and machine, reproduce outside of the womb, and clone humans as well as their cats. To some these are exciting break-throughs in bio-technology, to others it's like a sci-fi thriller or nightmare.
As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday, April 27, 2005, a 20-member panel picked by the National Academies, a Congress commissioned independent organization, released their 131-page report with guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research "offering a system of institutional self-policing as a way to move the politically contentious research forward." These guidelines, while applying to all stem cell research, would be voluntary.
The guidelines include:
1) Consent needs to be obtained from the donor before an embryo can be used to produce stem cells.
2) Human embryos used for research should be discarded after 14 days.
3) Human stem cells should not be introduced into other humans or non-human primates.
4) Human stem cells can be introduced into non-human mammals when no other experiment can provide the information needed.
5) No animal into which stem cells have been introduced should be allowed to breed.
The panel also addressed two aspects of cloning recommending that cloning for reproductive purposes is unethical and should not be done, however, a cloning technique used to create embryos for therapeutic purposes, called nuclear transfer, could be used which "may be needed to cultivate a patient's own stem cells". Read the Full Story
© Sharon Hughes 2005
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