Dedicated to Advancing Stem Cell Research

 

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
(Therapeutic Cloning)

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (a.k.a. “therapeutic cloning”) is about saving and improving lives.  It is fundamentally different from human reproductive cloning; SCNT produces stem cells, not babies.

• In Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), 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.
• The goal of SCNT is to develop stem cells that will not be rejected or destroyed by the patient’s immune system.  
• 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 life-threatening 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.   

 

There are many different kinds of cloning, most of which are commonly used medical tools.

• Cloning simply means making copies of a single molecule, cell, virus or bacterium.
•   Over the last decade, various types of cloning have allowed scientists and researchers to:
• Develop powerful new drugs;
• Produce insulin and useful bacteria in the lab;
• Track the origins of biological weapons;
• Catch criminals and free innocent people.

CAMR opposes reproductive cloning and implantation, which aims to create human beings by cloning human embryos.

• Patient advocacy groups and leading scientists, including the National Academy of Sciences, and a large majority of the American people agree that human reproductive cloning should not be allowed.

 

SCNT could lead to dramatic new treatments and cures for now-incurable diseases and medical conditions.

• SCNT could be used to help nearly 100 million Americans suffering from cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries, heart disease, ALS, and other devastating conditions for which treatments and cures must still be found.
• Proof of principle for SCNT has been established in humans and in mice.

SCNT is widely supported in the U.S.

• Nation’s leading medical scientists, including the National Academy of Sciences and 40 Nobel Laureates
• Major patient advocacy organizations
• American public [1]
• Republicans and Democrats
• Religious leaders

 

A federal ban on therapeutic cloning would have devastating results.

It would:

• “… have a chilling effect on all scientific research in the United States,” say 40 Nobel Laureates;
• Cut off hope to millions of Americans with life-threatening diseases;
• Run counter to our nation’s history as the world’s leader in biomedical research;
• Some proposed bans would even make it illegal for U.S. citizens to seek SCNT treatment abroad. This means that a patient who may have little hope left could be thrown in jail upon re-entry to the U.S. if they went to another country to have treatment using SCNT; send a scientist to jail for developing SCNT therapies in a Petri dish; and make it illegal for U.S. scientists to import SCNT therapies that were developed in other countries. 

State governments are promoting safe-havens for stem cell and therapeutic cloning research

• CAMR supports state efforts to create safe-havens for critical medical research such as stem cells and therapeutic cloning, but it is no substitute for a supportive federal policy.
• State legislation that is pro-stem cell and therapeutic cloning research helps attract top scientists/researchers to pursue this field of study and increases research activity. 
• Increased research activity helps bring us closer to scientific advances that could lead to cures.
• State legislation that requires IVF clinics to inform patients of their option to donate excess fertilized eggs for research helps increase the supply of material available for research.  This in turn helps increase the genetic diversity of new stem cell lines that could be developed.
• State governments that pass anti-stem cell and therapeutic cloning legislation, such as Iowa, force researchers to flee to states like California and New Jersey, which provide funding and positive research environments.
• Broadly-worded state bans on all human cloning will only stop important research and possible cures.