Scientists have cloned human embryos for the first time using immature eggs matured in a dish -- a technique that may help cloning become a viable option for growing patients' own replacement tissue to treat diseases.
The experiment, which was outlined on Monday at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, brings the Belgians to the forefront of human cloning, aimed at producing stem cells that would be a genetic match for injured or sick patients.
EXTRACTION
The goal of so-called therapeutic cloning of human embryos is not to create babies but to extract stem cells, which are created in the earliest days after conception and give rise to the human body.
Scientists hope to use the cells as replacement parts for diseased and injured organs. Cells taken from cloned embryos would be a genetic match and theoretically avoid transplant rejection problems.
Some experts have said cloning may not become a practical approach for creating tailor-made stem cells because it requires huge numbers of eggs. There aren't enough mature eggs left over from infertility treatments to meet that need, which means scores of women would have to be willing to donate them.
supply problem
Until now, scientists have only used mature eggs to create cloned embryos, but if immature eggs work too, the egg-supply problem may be significantly eased, said Josiane Van der Elst, who conducted the research at Ghent University in Belgium.
In the experiment, the scientists were able to produce seven cloned embryos from the immature eggs. However, the embryos only developed for four days, not long enough for stem cells to be extracted.
Van der Elst said her team is continuing to perfect the approach and hopes to produce embryos that can yield stem cells.
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