Made-To-Order Embryos Debated
AP Online
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By GREGG AAMOT
Associated Press Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- When a husband and wife sought to save the
life of their ailing 6-year-old daughter, they turned to a
made-to-order embryo.
The procedure resulted in the birth of an infant boy, whose
umbilical cord blood was used in transfusions that raised hopes his
sister might be able to lead a normal life.
But the procedure also raised troubling ethical issues that a
panel of 15 doctors, ethicists and others grappled with Friday
during a forum at the University of Minnesota.
The panel hopes to publish its arguments in favor of growing
embryos for the specific purpose of treating disease in a national
medical journal.
"It's very thorny, and we tried to make our way through it,"
said Jeffrey Kahn, director of the university's Center for
Bioethics.
Dr. John Wagner said hundreds of families worldwide have
inquired about embryonic transplants since September, when
physicians at the university performed the umbilical transfusions
for 6-year-old Molly Nash of Englewood, Colo.
Molly had suffered from Fanconi anemia, a genetic disorder that
prevented her body from making bone marrow. Infused cells from the
cord blood successfully took over the functions of Molly's bone
marrow, making platelets and disease-fighting white blood cells.
In that case, doctors fertilized 12 of mother Lisa Nash's eggs,
tested 10 of the embryos, selected the one that became the baby
boy, Adam, and froze the rest except for one embryo that tested
positive for Fanconi anemia.
The procedure, known by doctors as pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis, has drawn criticism because unused embryos, as in the
Nash case, could be discarded. Pope John Paul II is among those who
have attacked the practice of discarding unused embryos. Also,
federal law prohibits government funding for related embryonic stem
cell research, a more controversial procedure that results in the
death of an embryo. That research was not discussed Friday.
"Most of us agreed that there needs to be an ongoing discussion
as this technology unfolds," Kahn said.
Lisa and Jack Nash were the first parents to conceive a child
through in-vitro fertilization -- and have the embryo screened to
make sure it didn't have the disease and was a proper tissue match
-- so the baby could be a transplant donor.
During Friday's discussion, ethicists also addressed concerns
over the use of embryonic screening for vanity or convenience
rather than medical necessity.
Before embryos are made-to-order, parents and doctors should
consider the risks and benefits to the children, as well as the
parents' motivation, the panelists agreed.
The procedure should only be used by families that have a child
with a disease that can be treated through the use of a screened
embryo, they said. Also, the panel seeks increased monitoring of
technology used in different institutions, Kahn and Wagner said.
Unacceptable uses would include terminating a made-to-order
fetus to use aborted materials for treatment, and growing a child
for umbilical cord blood or other material and then putting the
child up for adoption, the panel agreed.
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On the Net:
University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics:
http://www.bioethics.umn.edu
Fanconi Anemia Research Fund Inc.: http://www.fanconi.org
University of Nebraska fetal cell research:
http://www.unmc.edu./fetalcellresearch