A four-member panel of scientists has recommended that the British government allow the cloning of human embryos to advance research into the treatment of disease.
The proposal was made December 8 in a joint report by Britain's Human Genetics Advisory Commission (HGAC) and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which were asked in January to address the issue of cloning. Britain's Department of Health is expected to respond to the recommendation early next year.
The panel said that although the cloning of humans should be banned, "the same rigid rule should not apply to the use of early-stage embryos for research," the British Broadcasting Corporation reported. In Britain, embryos younger than 14 days old may be used for research related to congenital diseases and infertility.
HGAC Chairman Sir Colin Campbell said, "Cell nucleus replacement techniques might be helpful with research into and eventually treatment of serious conditions such as Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's, and various types of cancer. New treatments might also be developed for diseases or damaged tissue. ... Although such applications are still some years away, we believe that it would not be right at this stage to rule out limited research using such techniques, which could be of great benefit to seriously ill people" (www.dti.gov.uk/hgac/press/press_n.htm).
The panel's recommendation came during a week in which scientists in the United States urged Congress to allow embryo research (see related story) and researchers in Japan announced that they had cloned eight calves from a single adult cow (Science 1998;282:2095-2098). In early November two research groups said they had successfully cultured human embryonic stem cells, which theoretically could lead to the ability to create transplantable organs and tissues on demand.
"Some scientists are even talking of combining the stem cell and cloning technologies as a means to produce tissues and even whole organs that would not be rejected by the body as foreign," the BBC said on December 3.
For Your Information:
The HGAC/HFEA report:
www.dti.gov.uk/hgac/papers/papers_d.htmBBC - "Human spare-part cloning set for approval":
www.news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_230000/230002.stm
Also see "Relevant Stories" at this site on the righthand side.New Scientist magazine has posted a Cloning Special Report, which includes an article called "Organs Without Donors":
www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/clone/ncloning.html
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