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Group To Debate Banking Embryos For A Future 'Body-Repair Kit'
One US Company Already Offers Option
By Susan Brinkmann, For The Bulletin
A new controversy is brewing over whether or not couples should be allowed to store embyros for the purpose of using them later to cure diseases or create new body parts for themselves. A U.S. company has been providing these services since 2007.
According to London’s MailOnline, the U.K.’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is set to debate whether or not couples should be allowed to create embryos and store them as a sort of “body-repair kit” for future use. Even though embryonic stem cell research has produced no known cures or treatments for disease, the possibility that it may do so within 10 years is prompting many to think it may be a good idea to plan ahead and store embryos just in case.
At the present time, the UK only allows embryos to be stored for up to five years and only for the purpose of procreation. The new policy would allow the storage of embryos for a purpose other than new life.
StemLifeLine, a U.S. company, is already offering the service. It announced in 2007 that parents would be permitted to store stem cells from their embryos “as an investment for the future.” These services are offered to couples whose childbearing needs are fulfilled but still have embryos remaining in storage.
“We can help transform these embryos into individual stem cell lines that our clients may one day use to create therapies for themselves and their families,” the Web site says.
This service goes a step further than current commercial stem-cell banking initiatives that offer to store cord blood from the umbilical chord of newborn babies as a potential source of immunologically identical stem cells, which could be used for some future treatments of that newborn.
The HFEA already allows ‘saviour siblings’ — a practice that involves the creation of babies by IVF (in vitro fertilization) who are pre-screened as embryos to be a tissue match for an existing child with a serious condition. This practice is controversial because it often involves the destruction of perfectly healthy embryos simply because they are not “matches.”
The upcoming HFEA debate, which is scheduled for July, will go a step further and explore whether or not families can begin to “bank” embryos not just for procreation but also for use by doctors to create personalised treatments for parents and their children.
“Horizon scanning is part of our regulatory role,” according to an HFEA spokesperson. “We look at developing technologies which may impact on the work we do.”
However, Josephine Quintavalle of the pro-life group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: “It is sadly almost inevitable that embryonic stem cells created from frozen surplus will become the latest must-have healthcare accessory.”
According to London’s MailOnline, the U.K.’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is set to debate whether or not couples should be allowed to create embryos and store them as a sort of “body-repair kit” for future use. Even though embryonic stem cell research has produced no known cures or treatments for disease, the possibility that it may do so within 10 years is prompting many to think it may be a good idea to plan ahead and store embryos just in case.
At the present time, the UK only allows embryos to be stored for up to five years and only for the purpose of procreation. The new policy would allow the storage of embryos for a purpose other than new life.
StemLifeLine, a U.S. company, is already offering the service. It announced in 2007 that parents would be permitted to store stem cells from their embryos “as an investment for the future.” These services are offered to couples whose childbearing needs are fulfilled but still have embryos remaining in storage.
“We can help transform these embryos into individual stem cell lines that our clients may one day use to create therapies for themselves and their families,” the Web site says.
This service goes a step further than current commercial stem-cell banking initiatives that offer to store cord blood from the umbilical chord of newborn babies as a potential source of immunologically identical stem cells, which could be used for some future treatments of that newborn.
The HFEA already allows ‘saviour siblings’ — a practice that involves the creation of babies by IVF (in vitro fertilization) who are pre-screened as embryos to be a tissue match for an existing child with a serious condition. This practice is controversial because it often involves the destruction of perfectly healthy embryos simply because they are not “matches.”
The upcoming HFEA debate, which is scheduled for July, will go a step further and explore whether or not families can begin to “bank” embryos not just for procreation but also for use by doctors to create personalised treatments for parents and their children.
“Horizon scanning is part of our regulatory role,” according to an HFEA spokesperson. “We look at developing technologies which may impact on the work we do.”
However, Josephine Quintavalle of the pro-life group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: “It is sadly almost inevitable that embryonic stem cells created from frozen surplus will become the latest must-have healthcare accessory.”
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