An approach to the ethical donation of human embryos for harvest of stem cells.
This paper considers embryo grading within a given infertility treatment and suggests an ethical approach to embryo donation for embryonic stem cell harvest. It is concluded that ethical considerations regarding human embryos do not necessarily preclude the use of certain embryos for biomedical research or transplantation. The argument is based on the following rationale: all embryos are not physiologically equal, some low-grade embryos will never be chosen for implantation, cells from low-grade embryos may be donated for transplantation or research, and embryonic stem cells can be harvested from low-grade embryos. This argument bears special importance at this time as embryos created by IVF are still the only source of embryonic stem cells, given the current controversy surrounding published studies of human somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Schwartz
Philip H
PH
National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource, Children's Hospital of Orange County Research Institute, 455 South Main Street, Orange, CA 92868-3874, USA. pschwartz@choc.org
Rae
Scott B
SB
D033041:Embryo Research / Q000941:ethics*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology*; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D013234:Stem Cells; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000941:ethics*