Frequently Asked Questions:
What exactly is SCNT?
- SCNT (Somatic cell nuclear transfer), also known as therapeutic cloning, is the transplanting of a patient's DNA into an unfertilized egg in order to grow stem cells that could cure devastating diseases.
- The promise of SCNT is that the patient's body would accept these cells after transplantation.
Whether you call it "therapeutic cloning" or "somatic cell nuclear transfer" or "nuclear transplantation," it is still cloning – isn't it?
- Scientists do many kinds of cloning every day, most of which is commonly accepted. Cloning has allowed scientists to develop powerful new drugs and to produce insulin and useful bacteria in the lab. It also allows researchers to track the origins of biological weapons, catch criminals, and free innocent people.
- There's a world of difference between reproductive cloning – something that should be banned right away – and therapeutic cloning. Therapeutic cloning offers great promise for curing deadly and terrible diseases. SCNT saves lives; it doesn't create lives.
What exactly is reproductive cloning?
- Reproductive cloning is the use of cloning technology to create a child. It entails taking a fertilized egg and implanting it into a woman's uterus.
- There is virtual unanimity that reproductive cloning should be banned because it is unsafe and unethical.
How can therapeutic cloning, or SCNT, help cure disease?
- Many of the most debilitating diseases and conditions are caused by damage to cells and tissue. When combined with stem cell research, SCNT could be used to develop new and innovative treatments — such as replacement cells and tissue — that allow organs to function again and restore hope to millions of families.
- SCNT is also integral to improving scientists' understanding of how stem cells develop. This new knowledge could speed the search for new treatments —and possibly cures — for some of the most complex diseases that plague our society.
- In particular, SCNT could allow researchers to move stem cell research to a new level, developing stem cell therapies that are specifically tailored to an individual's medical condition. Moreover, SCNT could help scientists develop stem cells that will not be attacked and destroyed by the body's immune system. This holds particular promise for patients who suffer from diabetes, heart disease, and spinal cord injuries.
With therapeutic cloning, aren't we going down a slippery slope with this brand of science toward creating life?
- Not at all. With therapeutic cloning, there is no fertilization of the egg by sperm, no implantation in the uterus and no pregnancy. Dr. Harold Varmus, the former head of the NIH and a Nobel laureate, says there is a profound distinction between cloning with the intent of making a human being and research cloning to get a handle on understanding and treating terrible diseases.
Don't we already have enough stem cells for research? Plus aren't adult stem cells more promising than embryonic stem cells? Why must we use SCNT?
- No, we don't have enough stem cells for research. There are only a limited number of stem cell lines available to American researchers and not enough to proceed at full pace with extensive research into treatments and cures. There certainly are not enough to turn research into treatments.
- Adult stem cell research shows promise in some areas and should be pursued. However, our nation's top scientists, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Academy of Sciences all agree that embryonic stem cells have greater potential – they are "pluripotent" (can make any cell in the body) and "immortal" (can be grown in a lab indefinitely) – than adult cells.
Some people and organizations favor a temporary moratorium, which sounds reasonable. What's wrong with a moratorium?
- It would be reasonable if this weren't a life and death matter. We should be giving our top scientists and doctors every possible tool to push for breakthroughs in treating cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, juvenile diabetes, spinal cord injuries, stroke and a multitude of other diseases.
- A moratorium would:
- Set up political hurdles down the road because lifting a Congressional ban is more complicated and time-consuming than it sounds. Terminally ill patients would be forced to wait while politicians discuss, debate and delay.
- Send the wrong signals to our scientists. It would tell them that therapeutic cloning should not be pursued. It also would stigmatize this research as suspect. It, in effect, would bring this type of research to a grinding halt, making it difficult to be restarted once the moratorium expires.
- Put life-saving medical breakthroughs on indefinite hold. Many of the patients suffering from these diseases do not have time to wait. For them, a delay in research could be a death sentence.
- With these diseases affecting over 100 million Americans, there is no time to waste. Just ask anybody who suffers from Parkinson's or anyone who cares for someone with Alzheimer's whether they are willing to wait.
With confusion about the different kinds of cloning, what is to prevent ruthless people from performing full-fledged, reproductive cloning under the guise of therapeutic cloning?
- We support immediate creation and enforcement of strict regulations to supplement existing FDA regulations, including a complete ban on reproductive cloning and stiff penalties for breaking the law.
So what should the Congress do – what is our solution?
- We should immediately adopt legislation that keeps the door open to life-saving medical research, but slams it on reproductive cloning. It would be a tragic mistake to let our outrage over reproductive cloning blind us to the life-saving potential of therapeutic cloning.
- Their legislation reflects the approach recommended by several blue-ribbon scientific and medical panels, including the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, the National Academy’s Panel on Scientific and Medical Aspects of Human Cloning, and the California Advisory Committee on Human Cloning – as well as 40 Nobel laureates and, perhaps most importantly, millions of patients and their families.
Would SCNT lead to a market for women's eggs and the exploitation of women?
- There won't be a market for eggs. The main purpose of SCNT is to perform research to understand how cells develop. Once that is understood, the process can be replicated in a laboratory and there will be no need for new eggs.
- All research must be reviewed by an independent review board to ensure that the research will be done according to the highest ethical standards including: protection of women, informed consent, and no undue financial inducements.
From the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR)
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