title: Do we still need human embryonic stem cells for stem cell-based therapies? Epistemic and ethical aspects.
abstract: While scientific community disagrees about similarities and differences between human embryonic stem (hES) cells and human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells, some politicians embrace translational hiPS cell research as a replacement for translational hES cell research. We examine the ethical relevance of the main differences between hES and hiPS cell-based therapies and discuss whether, given the current state of knowledge, certain differences are essential. We discuss whether well-founded preferences can be made in hypothetical scenarios with varying levels of patient safety, treatment efficacy, treatment accessibility and ethical controversy.
authors: Department of Medical Ethics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Kristina.Hug@med.lu.se
authors: Kristina
authors: K
authors: Hug
authors: Göran
authors: G
authors: Hermerén
mesh_terms: D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000637:transplantation; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D057905:Stem Cell Research / Q000941:ethics*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000941:ethics; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000941:ethics*