Therapeutic Cloning
The basis for therapeutic cloning in terms of stem cell developments can be found in the concepts leading to the cloning of an entire organism (with many animals currently being cloned and studied as part of research into this particular method). Following the same principles, therapeutic cloning involves the removal of the central nucleus of a target cell and the depositing of the harvested DNA into an empty “receptor” stem cell that has had its own base nucleus removed for processing. Once the target DNA is inserted the cell then works to replicate and diversify based upon the inserted genetic instructions, creating new tissues or systems as necessary (and in many cases entire organisms, as first demonstrated by “Dolly” the sheep).
Therapeutic cloning, while following the same principles, focuses on replicating specific tissues or organs rather than entre cellular systems. Known also as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), therapeutic cloning has been the focus of many researchers around the world for a number of years due to the high potential it has for benefitting the medical industry as a viable source of effective tissues for those in need. This is particularly highlighted by the fact that any therapeutically cloned tissues would actually be significantly more viable in terms of being accepted by a recipient as the tissues themselves can contain the same genetic structures as the recipient and therefore be physically accepted with little impact upon the patient’s body as a whole.
For an example of how therapeutic cloning can benefit the medical industry consider a patient who is currently dying of heart, lung or liver failure. The only way to allow the individual to live (or at least live without the aid of machines) would be to somehow obtain an organ from a donor, however with waiting lists extremely long and compatibility issues a major concern (especially for people with rare blood types such as AB negative) this is not always an effective option and many people die each day because of this. Therapeutic cloning, on the other hand, would allow for specific targeted organs to be replicated for patients and implanted into their bodies as needed to replace damaged or dying cells.
Unfortunately the therapeutic cloning process for many partial clones is still being developed and is currently not viable to widespread medical application researchers anticipate that in the coming few years they will be able to successfully target specific organs for replication and effectively treat a number of diseases.
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