LONDON, December 13, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The first country to allow human cloning, has once again forged into controversy by approving the use of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to screen in vitro embryos to find genetic matches for older born siblings for use as stem cell and bone marrow donors. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) today announced its decision to “allow a couple at risk of passing on a genetic disease to use PGD, not only to select embryos free from the disease, but also to select an embryo so that stem cells from the resulting baby's umbilical cord blood could be used in the treatment of an existing affected sibling.”
The HFEA said the technique would require a special licence from the HFEA and is subject to conditions including:
– That all other possibilities of treatment and sources of tissue for the affected child should have been explored
– The condition of the affected child should be severe or life-threatening
– The technique should not be available where the intended tissue recipient is a parent.
– Couples undergoing this type of treatment should receive appropriate implications counselling.
– Embryos should not be genetically modified to provide a tissue match.
The HFEA decision has been condemned by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) as a further erosion of the status of the human embryo. Commenting on the decision, Paul Tully of SPUC said: “This technique means that large numbers of embryos-dozens or even hundreds-will be created in the search for a tissue match. Embryos that don't provide the match will be discarded. Those that match may be transferred to the womb in the hope that they will survive to birth. The discarded embryos will receive no recognition of their humanity-they will be discarded because they are unwanted. In sanctioning this the HFEA have reached a new depth of contempt for the embryos they are purported to protect.”