PGD and Embryonic Stem Cells

My friend and colleague Kate Baggott has a story in the MIT Technology Review on the ethics of stem cells. She discusses the creation of embryonic stem cells using methods similar to those used in pre-implantation genetic diagnosis where a single cell from an early stage embryo is used to for genetic diagnosis and does not harm the embryo. This same cell can be kept and used for creating a stem cell line destined for therapeutic use.

That scenario could be limited, however, because only a small percentage of embryos used in IVF clinics actually undergo PGD. “We would certainly not recommend that IVF with PGD should become routine in order to generate a stem cell line for each individual,” says Zev Rosenwaks, director of The Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility in New York City. “Other than that, the procedure seems like a perfectly reasonable proposition for cases when PGD is already being performed.”

Another method of creating human pluripotent stem cells without destroying embryos, altered nuclear transfer, is championed by Stanford University Professor William Hurlbut (a former prof of mine). I don’t know which way stem cell research will eventually go, but it’s certain the politically contentious debate will continue.

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