Nuclear Transfer Technique Approved in UK
Last week, I wrote about nuclear transfer and its potential to cure mitochondrial diseases. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in the UK has granted a license to Newcastle Centre at LIFE for Mitochondrial Research approving the technique.
Professor John Burns had a slightly bizarre way of explaining why nuclear transfer should be permitted:
From a philosophical or medical point of view there is no reason why we should not do this. I would use the analogy of simply replacing the battery in a pocket radio to explain what we are doing. You are not altering the radio at all, just giving it a new power source.
And Josephine Quintaville of the the UK’s Comment on Reproductive Ethics group believes she’s speaking on behalf of all of us (or at least those of us in the UK):
This shows once again that the HFEA does not have any regard for public consultation and the views of the public.
To be honest, I’m not even sure if half the public has a clue about nuclear transfer - its existence, the technique, and the overall goal. If you’re reading this post, you’re already one step ahead.
ABC Science Online, September 9, 2005
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