Although cloning and stem cell research are often lumped together in the context of ethical debates, the goals and results of the two are very different. The common factor between current attempts at repro- ductive cloning and stem cell research is a laboratory technique called nuclear transfer. Using nuclear trans- fer, scientists can create blastocysts containing stem cells that are “clones” of a single adult cell by insert- ing the genetic material from an adult cell (for exam- ple, a skin cell) into an egg whose nucleus has been removed (this process is described in more detail on page 6). Scientists hope that they could derive stem cells from the cells inside such blastocysts and grow replacement tissues that are genetically matched to specific patients, thus offering patients a safer alterna- tive to traditional tissue transplants.
Reproductive cloning, such as the process that was used to create Dolly the sheep, also uses the nuclear transfer technique. However, instead of removing the inner cell mass to derive a stem cell line, the blastocyst is implanted into the uterus and allowed to develop fully. In 2002, the National Academies issued the report Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning, which concluded “Human reproductive cloning should not now be practiced. It is dangerous and likely to fail.”
“Human reproductive cloning should not now be practiced.
It is dangerous and likely to fail.”
Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Reproductive Cloning, National Academies Press, 2005
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