IVF support for the UK - Cloning or Clowning?

It is claimed that the first human clone was born on December 26^th 2002 and a second on January 3^rd 2003 and a third on January 23^rd 2003. Whether or not these babies are actually clones has yet to be proven. Reproductive scientists around the World are very sceptical about these claims and the organisation who claims to have created the clones have repeatedly failed to provide any scientific evidence. Whether or not human cloning has been achieved is still a matter for debate but it remains a fact that the technology does exist and that with a large effort from an experienced group of scientists a human clone is theoretically possible.

There are, nevertheless, some major obstacles to overcome if cloning is to be used as a safe method of assisted reproduction. The first obstacle is the need for a supply of large numbers of human eggs in order to create the clone. Animal studies have shown that it needs approximately 100 eggs to produce 3 live births, if this is the case for humans then this is clearly a big obstacle to overcome. Assuming that the eggs are available then the next stage of cloning involves the removal of the nucleus from the egg, the introduction of a cell from the person to be cloned into the egg and the application of a small electric shock to the egg in order to initiate embryonic development. These procedures are relatively easy to a trained embryologist. This does not mean, however, that reproductive cloning is easy or acceptable. Far from it.

Animal studies have shown that reproductive cloning is a very risky procedure both for the mother and the offspring. Most of the cloned embryos die before birth and those that do reach birth very often have very severe or fatal defects. Experts in the field of animal cloning state that this embryonic, fetal and neonatal death make any attempts at human cloning grossly irresponsible. The majority of cloned animals which have reached birth have been shown to have very severe birth defects which in humans would either result in death or painful, expensive life long treatment. Dolly the sheep, who was the first cloned mammal six years ago, is showing signs of premature ageing and studies using mice have shown similar results. Reproductive cloning for humans is therefore technically possible but morally and ethically unacceptable. Those people attempting to use such technology should think very carefully about the quality of life of the individuals they are trying to create.

There is another aspect to cloning which may have more potential and this is called therapeutic cloning. The technology here is the same as before but the aim to is to create stem cells to treat an individual. For example, a person with spinal damage could opt to have a cloned embryo produced from their own cells. The embryo would then develop in the laboratory and at around day 4 of development the embryo would be used to develop nerve stem cells in the laboratory. These cells would then be transplanted back into the person with spinal damage in an attempt to achieve a repair. The cloned embryo does not develop to term, it is merely used as a source of stem cells. The opponents of this technique view the use of the embryo in this context as an abortion and much debate (and possibly legislation) is required to guide workers in this field. Therapeutic cloning must be viewed as a method of obtaining stem cells for treatment and not as a reproductive technology

Cloning is here to stay. Many countries have already banned all cloning such as most of Europe and Australia, some have banned reproductive cloning only such as the UK. We cannot ignore this technology but at the same time we need to encourage debate, research and legislation so that any potential benefits of the technology can be brought to those in need.