Media releases

THERAPEUTIC CLONING FOR TISSUE REPAIR
22 November 1999

It is two years since the world was introduced to the cloned sheep ‘Dolly’.

Since then, frontier research has focused on the application of therapeutic cloning for tissue repair in experimental animals.

Should similar research be carried out for humans?

This was the question addressed when the Australian Academy of Science hosted a Forum on Therapeutic Research for Tissue Repair on 16 September 1999 at Becker House (The Dome) in Canberra.

Opening the Forum, Professor John White, Secretary for Science Policy, reaffirmed the Academy’s Position Statement announced earlier this year that: Reproductive cloning to produce human fetuses is unethical and unsafe and should be prohibited. However, human cells, whether derived from cloning techniques or from embryonic stem (ES) cells, should not be precluded from use in approved research activities in cellular and developmental biology.

Leading speakers at the Forum, Professor Neal First from the University of Wisconsin and Professor Martin Evans from Cardiff University, provided international updates on research advances in tissue repair.

Professor First said: Overall, progress towards human cell therapies has been rapid. Examples of success such as skin, blood cells, and some brain cells have reached clinical trials. Embryonic stem cell approaches are awaiting perfection and clinical trials. The potential for a new era of disease therapy is evident.

Professor Martin Evans suggested in his lecture that:

Not only is stem cell research needed but it is the 'bridge' between our present understanding and a knowledge of how stem cells become different, more specialised cells (differentiation), and how that process may be reversed (de-differentiation). This knowledge could be used for tissue therapy.

He envisaged a future in which de-differentiation of cells may be achieved to provide ES cells for cellular therapy without use of the human embryo.

The Forum brought together the leading Australian scientists in cloning techniques, policy makers, moral philosophers and legal experts.