Human stem cell (HSC) research also raises sharp ethical and political controversies. The
derivation of pluripotent stem cell lines from acolytes and embryos is fraught with disputes
regarding the onset of human personhood and human reproduction. Several other methods of
deriving stem cells raise fewer ethical concerns. The reprogramming of somatic cells to produce
induced pluripotent stem cells (IPS cells) avoids the ethical problems specific to embryonic stem
cells. With any HSC research, however, there are difficult dilemmas, including consent to donate
materials for HSC research, early clinical trials of HSC therapies, and oversight of HSC research.
Ethical issues at different phases of stem cell research/
Phase of research
Ethical issues
Donation of biological materials
Informed and voluntary consent
Research with HSCs
Destruction of embryo
Creation of embryos specifically for research purposes:
1. Payment to acolyte donors
2. Medical risks of acolyte retrieval
3. Protecting reproductive interests of women in infertility treatment
Use of stem cell lines derived.
Conflicting ethical and legal standard at another institution.
Stem cell clinical trials.
Risks and benefits of experimental intervention Informed consent.
Adult stem cells and cord blood stem cells do not raise special ethical concerns and are widely
used in research and clinical care. Pluripotent stem cell lines can be derived from the inner cell
mass of the 5- to 7-d-old blast cyst. However, human embryonic stem cell (HESC) research is
ethically and politically controversial because it involves the destruction of human embryos.
Concerns about acolyte donation specifically for research are particularly serious in the wake of
the Hwang scandal in South Korea, in which widely hailed claims of deriving human SCNT lines
were fabricated. Pluripotent stem cell lines whose nuclear DNA matches a specific person have
several scientific advantages. Stem cell lines matched to persons with specific diseases can serve
as in vitro models of diseases, elucidate the path physiology of diseases, and screen potential
new therapies. Lines matched to specific individuals also offer the promise of personalized
antilogous stem cell transplantation. Pluripotent stem cells can be derived from fatal tissue after
abortion. However, use of fatal tissue is ethically controversial because it is associated with
abortion, which many people object to. IPS cells avoid the heated debates over the ethics of
embryonic stem cell research because embryos or acolytes are not used. Furthermore, because a
skin biopsy to obtain somatic cells is relatively non-invasive, there are fewer concerns about
risks to donors compared with acolyte donation.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
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