What Ethical and Moral Questions Surround Stem Cell Research?
If embryonic stem cells are used to replace injured or diseased cells in patients, as many people envision, large numbers of donated oocytes (egg cells) will be necessary to create cloned embryonic stem cells genetically matched to patients. In the cloning procedure, called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the nucleus of an oocyte is removed and replaced with the nucleus of an adult somatic (body tissue) cell. The procedure is not very efficient. For each successful cloning event there are usually hundreds of failed attempts. Disgraced South Korean stem cell researcher, Woo-Suk Hwang, who falsely claimed to have been the first to clone a human embryo and extract stem cells from it, reportedly amassed thousands of eggs over a three year period and used hundreds in his research—and he was still unsuccessful. The methods Hwang used to obtain these eggs have put egg donation in the spotlight, especially the issue of compensating women for their eggs. Many people believe that it is une
