FACT
Recall that in
Chapter 4 you learnt
that individuals with
cancer can be
treated through
chemotherapy.
However,
chemotherapy often
destroys healthy
cells along with
cancerous cells. The
use of adult stem
cells which derive
from the bone
marrow and liver
tissue is important
in replacing the
healthy cells
damaged by
chemotherapy.FACT
In June 2012, the
South African
plastic surgeon, Dr
Ridwan Mia led a
breakthrough
surgery, saving the
life of a three year
old burn victim by
transplanting skin
cells cloned from
the victim’s cells.
Pippie Kruger, the
burn survivor
initially had a 10%
chance of survival.
However, the
doctors obtained
some of her skin
cells, transported
them to a laboratory
in the USA, where
they were cloned in
order to produce
millions of extra
cells. These cells
were transplanted
into Pippie,
resulting in the
complete success of
her skin graftingFigure 5.40: A) undifferentiated embryonic stem cells and B) nerve cells forming from embryonic
cells.
The use of stem cells and embryonic stem cells in particular, is controversial, with many
people opposed to it for moral, religious or philosophical reasons. The objection is largely
based on what happens to the unused embryos.
Ethical issues and legislation
The use of science in cloning has created a lot of debate and controversy. Mainly, the debate
is whether the methods used for cloning result in cells that have the potential to form full-
grown organisms. The key ethical questions that arise are therefore:
- What to do about fused cells (known as embryos) that are not used for either therapeu-
tic or reproductive purposes? - By selecting certain genes for reproduction using cloning are we not favouring certain
types of characteristics over others? - Much of the cloning is conducted by private companies and this raises concerns that
the public might not be able to benefit from the research being conducted. - In the case of human cloning, if the embryos created are alive, do they have the rights
of a normal human being? - Are there better alternatives to stem cell research?
Legislation around stem cell research
Due to the issue of stem cell research being so controversial, different countries have very
different laws governing how it is to be conducted.
Some European countries such as Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Britain, Denmark and
Netherlands allow stem cell research using human embryos while some such as Germany,
Austria, Ireland, Italy and Portugal do not.The United States of America has divided opinions
on stem cell research, with some of its States providing funding for stem cell research while
others do not. India, Iran, South Korea, China and Australia are supportive of stem cell
research. South Africa continues to support stem cell research.
Chapter 5. Plant and animal tissues 149