Cloning Humans for Organs
Cloning Humans for Organs:
Introduction:
On June 26, 2000, scientists involved in the Human Genome Project announced their success in mapping the human genome. This has created an enormous controversy over property rights in human tissue. With advances in biotechnology and the advent in cloning, it seems likely that these issues will continue to cause controversy in the years to come. As the shortage of organs available for transplantation continues to grow, new methods of obtaining organs and tissues are being developed. These technologies raise several issues, including the extent of property interest people have in their own tissues and implications of the potential patenting of cloned organs and transgenic animals. Such an interest should extend to organs cloned in a lab, but not to organs of a human clone or to research innovations obtained through the use of donor DNA. The need for a readily available source of transplantable organs and tissues becomes greater each year. Even though the number of organ transplants increases each year, so does the number of people waiting for a compatible organ. Because of consent requirements and compatibility problems, the traditional sources of transplantable organs such as cadaveric organ donations are inadequate to meet the growing demand. Consequently, scientists have begun to look to alternative sources for transplantable organs, one of the most promising sources being cloned organs. One of the most beneficial potential uses of new cloning technology is the possibility of cloning to obtain tissues for transplants. Before the arrival of Dolly, the sheep from Scotland, the prospect of successfully cloning humans seemed closer to science fiction than to reality.
Methods of Cloning: Cloning, in its simplest sense, refers to a precise genetic copy of a molecule, cell, plant, animal, or human being. There are four separate ways to clone. The first two methods, however, cannot be used to produce a cloned human.
Introduction:
On June 26, 2000, scientists involved in the Human Genome Project announced their success in mapping the human genome. This has created an enormous controversy over property rights in human tissue. With advances in biotechnology and the advent in cloning, it seems likely that these issues will continue to cause controversy in the years to come. As the shortage of organs available for transplantation continues to grow, new methods of obtaining organs and tissues are being developed. These technologies raise several issues, including the extent of property interest people have in their own tissues and implications of the potential patenting of cloned organs and transgenic animals. Such an interest should extend to organs cloned in a lab, but not to organs of a human clone or to research innovations obtained through the use of donor DNA. The need for a readily available source of transplantable organs and tissues becomes greater each year. Even though the number of organ transplants increases each year, so does the number of people waiting for a compatible organ. Because of consent requirements and compatibility problems, the traditional sources of transplantable organs such as cadaveric organ donations are inadequate to meet the growing demand. Consequently, scientists have begun to look to alternative sources for transplantable organs, one of the most promising sources being cloned organs. One of the most beneficial potential uses of new cloning technology is the possibility of cloning to obtain tissues for transplants. Before the arrival of Dolly, the sheep from Scotland, the prospect of successfully cloning humans seemed closer to science fiction than to reality.
Methods of Cloning: Cloning, in its simplest sense, refers to a precise genetic copy of a molecule, cell, plant, animal, or human being. There are four separate ways to clone. The first two methods, however, cannot be used to produce a cloned human.