Hybrid Embryos Planned
Human And Animal Embryo Research Pushing The Boundaries Of Science
Mar 30, 2008
Kings College London and Newcastle University in the UK have been granted licences to create hybrid embryos using sperm from a man and the egg of a cow, for the purpose of studying genetic conditions and finding potential cures for currently incurable diseases like Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease.
Stem cells are the building blocks of life and can develop into any cell in the body so it is possible to grow tissue samples using stem cells, which may be helpful in treating illnesses.
Scientists are also working on how to grow organs from stem cells so that one day, organ transplants may be done using the person's own tissue. This would cancel out the need for anti-rejection drugs.
The hybrid embryos will be created by inserting sperm from a man into the egg of a cow which has had its nucleaus removed so that it contains no genetic information. The embryo would then be allowed to grow for two weeks, after which time it would be destroyed.
Doctors Lyle Armstrong, from Kings College, London and Stephen Minger, from Newcastle, hope to learn more about how stem cells work by studying the hybrid embryos.
Public relations work revealed that the majority of the UK population agree with the conception of hybrid embryos for the purposes of medical research.
Others are opposed to it. Previous studies have indicated that human tissue can be used to study stem cells, so why the need for human/animal embryos?
However, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) disagree, saying there is a need for 'basic research into differentiation of pluripotiential embryonic stem cells.'
The applications to create these hybrid embryos were put forward in November 2007 and January 2008 and they thought that the applications filled that need and that they had complied with all the requirements of UK law. They have offered both doctors licenses lasting one year in order to carry out their research.
The HFEA said that the 'research involves the creation and use in research of a live human embryo..and consequently the research is prohibited except in pursuance of a license granted by the authority.' The decision was reached as they were satisfied that there was no prohibition of the law as it currently stands, and that there would be 'no free for all' in this type of research.
This doesn't mean that any doctor wishing to create human/animal embryos could do so. New applications would have to be put forward for each project so that this type of research can be closely regulated.
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