Using `spare` human embryo from Invitro Fertilization procedure for stem cell Research: The ethical issues and arguments for and against the research

Using spare ' embryos from IVF procedures for stem cell research

The ethical issues and arguments for and against the research The employment of human embryonic stem cells is one of the most significant innovations in medicine (Wobus and Boheler , 2005 . The discovery of embryonic stem cells has created the fields of regenerative medicine and cellular therapy , which aim to treat debilitating and /or fatal conditions that were earlier acknowledged to be incurable (Taupin 1996 . Unfortunately , this breakthrough has brought forth issues regarding the value of life . Technically , embryonic stem cells are

collected from embryos that are ethically regarded at the earliest stages of human life . Ethical arguments have arisen , questioning whether it is right to improve life by destroying another human life in the form of an embryo . This will enumerate ethical arguments that support and renounce the use of spare embryos for the stem cell technology , as well as provide explanations for each side of the issue

Embryonic stem cells are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM ) of 5 to 7-day old human embryos or blastocysts right before its implantation along the walls of the uterus (Bongso et al , 1994 . These stem cells are cultured in vitro over mouse embryonic fibroblast feeder cells supplied with growth serum . Embryonic stem cells have the ability to infinitely self-renew and sustain their capacity to differentiate into any form of mature cell . Depending on the kind of trigger stimuli introduced , these cultured cells may be controlled to differentiate into the cell type needed for research , experimentation and therapeutics

Stem cells are collected from four different (4 ) sources - from surplus embryos or by-products of in vitro fertilization (IVF ) laboratories from spare ' embryos obtained from embryo donors at IVF clinics , from embryos created by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT ) or the removal of the nucleus from a body cell and reinsertion into an egg cell , and lastly , from aborted or terminated fetuses . No matter which route is used to collect stem cells , the use of embryos for stem cell research has been the center of ethical debate since its conception . The principle of ethics involves careful deliberation on the use of stem cells as related to human well-being and human freedom . Several issues regarding this new technology has raised uproar and disagreements between the scientific community and ethics groups

One major ethical issue regarding the use of spare ' embryos is the lack of respect for the embryo . The concern is associated to the possible future demand for embryos once this cellular technology is determined to be successfully therapeutic . Embryos might later be treated as therapeutic materials or commodities instead of living beings at their initial stages . There is also a risk for a devaluation of embryos , wherein the loss of human life may later in time be tolerated instead of prevented (Bobrow , 2005 . In addition , the acceptance of destruction of embryos may serve as a precedent for implementation of other controversial biomedical acts such as creation of embryo factories , cloned babies and mass production of spare parts ' from fetuses (Hug , 2005 , 2006 . One the other hand , the employment of spare embryos may not automatically mean any disrespect towards embryos because the destruction of embryos in to collect stem cells results in the provision of new therapeutics for specific medical diss . Certain scientists have actually claimed that it is more immoral to destroy embryos during in vitro fertilization because those embryos are not implanted or donated for further use but are actually discarded , unlike embryos that are destroyed for stem cell research which are cautiously propagated and ultimately designed to replace defective tissues and cells for medical therapeutics

Another major issue that is being publicly scrutinized is whether the creation of embryos for research purposes is morally worse than using spare ' embryos from IVF cases for experiments . Such issue reflects the intention of each act , and the idea of using leftover embryos from in vitro fertilization protocols is much more tolerable to society than the simple creation of research-oriented embryos because there is less guilt involved in using extra or spare embryos from IVF cases than creating embryos that could have been another human being but their chance to live has been taken away . On the other hand , it must also be realized that production and destruction of spare embryos is a normal physiological event during pregnancy , which enables a sibling embryo to complete the entire gestational range (Borge and Evers , 2003 . This kind of sacrifice is also necessary to promote life for the sibling embryo

After describing the pros and cons of two major ethical issues , I personally believe that the utilization of spare embryos for stem cell research is acceptable . I think that the ethical questions raised against the use of spare embryos just shows that the public lacks a comprehensive understanding of this revolutionary technology , as well as an incomplete knowledge of the normal physiology of the human reproductive system . More effort should be given by both scientific and legislative communities to understand and disseminate these essential information so that the society will have a better grasp of the benefits of embryonic stem cell research and appreciate its ultimate results in medical therapeutics References

Bobrow , J .C (2005 : The ethics and politics of stem cell research Trans . Am . Ophthalmol . Soc . 103 :138-142

Bongso , A , Fong , C .Y , Ng , S .C . and Ratnam , S (1994 : Isolation and culture of inner cell mass cells from human blastocysts . Hum . Reprod 9 :2110-2117

Borge , O .J . and Evers , K (2003 : Aspects on properties , use and ethical considerations of embryonic stem cells- A short review Cytotechnology 41 :59-68

Hug , K (2005 : Sources of human embryos for stem cell research Ethical problems and their possible solutions . Medicina (Kaunas 41 (12 :1002-1010

Hug , K (2006 : Therapeutic perspectives of human embryonic stem cell research versus the moral status of a human embryo- Does one have to be compromised for the other ? Medicina (Kaunas ) 42 (2 :107-114

Taupin ,

(2006 : Derivation of embryonic stem cells for cellular therapy : Challenges and new strategies . Med . Sci . Monit 12 (4 :RA75-78

Wobus , A .M . and Boheler , K .R (2005 : Embryonic stem cells : Prospects for developmental biology and cell therapy . Physiol . Rev . 85 :635-678 ...