Does the derivation of new lines of human EScells for research purposes mean the purposeful creation and then destruction of human embryos?
Given the limited number of human embryos that are truly available from current stores of frozen IVF embryos, the creation of additional human EScell lines will require the special creation of human embryos solely for research purposes, as has been demonstrated by Doug Melton at Harvard. These embryos can be created either through in vitro fertilization or by cloning. Either way, these human embryos are made and then killed for the explicit use of researchers in the laboratory. There is this belief by some that stem cells can be harvested without damage to the embryo. Wrong. The only way to extract stem cells from a 5-7 day embryo is to remove the outer shell of the embryo and extract the inner cell mass, which consists of stem cells. This process necessarily kills the embryo, and scientists have never been able to derive an EScell without killing an embryo.
Related Questions
- Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit the creation of a database for research purposes through an Institutional Review Board (IRB) waiver of individual authorization?
- As part of their course my students will be collecting data and/or samples from human participants - but not for research purposes. Does this need ethical approval?
- Does the derivation of new lines of human EScells for research purposes mean the purposeful creation and then destruction of human embryos?
