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PATIENT GROUPS RESPOND TO STUDY SHOWING NUCLEAR TRANSPLANTATION CAN ELIMINATE TISSUE REJECTION IN ANIMALS

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research Against Using This In Humans

"While the research ACT conducted in this study demonstrates some important proof of principles for nuclear transplantation (or therapeutic cloning), clearly the research methods used in this experiment should not be applied in humans," said Michael Manganiello, President of CAMR, the patient and research advocacy group which led the advocacy efforts to allow federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. "CAMR is opposed to reproductive cloning or any use of the technology that allows a transfer into a woman's uterus. We support legislation, such as Senate Bill S. 2439 promoted by Senators Specter, Feinstein, Hatch and Kennedy, which would make that illegal."

"The ACT announcement comes at a critical time during the Senate debate on therapeutic cloning. While the research in animal models shows that it may be possible to use cloning to generate tissues and eliminate tissue rejection, it's important for the American public to understand that the methods used in this animal experiment should not be pursued in humans," said Christopher Reeve, Chairman of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation. "Research involving the implantation of a human embryo into a woman, even to derive life-saving cells, crosses a very important line and we need to pass legislation that would prohibit it. Although I am a patient living with a severe spinal cord injury, I can say without any reservation whatsoever, that I do not support the implantation of embryos into humans to derive medical treatments."

Therapeutic cloning is fundamentally different from human reproductive cloning; therapeutic produces stem cells, not babies. In therapeutic cloning, the nucleus of a donor's unfertilized egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus of a patient's own cells, like a skin, heart, or nerve cell. These types of cells are called somatic cells. NO sperm is used in this procedure. The cells are not transplanted into a womb. The unfertilized egg cells are stored in a petri dish to become a source of stem cells that can be used to treat currently incurable medical conditions. SCNT aims to treat or cure patients by creating tailor-made, genetically identical cells that their bodies won't reject. In other words, SCNT could allow patients to be cured using their own DNA.

A poll commissioned by the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) shows that more than two thirds of Americans support therapeutic cloning research to produce stem cells for treating life-threatening diseases and want the government to allow it to proceed. Less than 30% want to outlaw the research. In the poll, conducted from April 18 to April 21, 68% of those surveyed said they favored the government allowing scientists to conduct therapeutic cloning research, while only 26% opposed it.