This document discusses organ cloning and its arguments. It begins with an overview of organ cloning and the goals of cloning organs to address the organ shortage crisis. It then examines several arguments for and against organ cloning. Pro arguments include addressing the organ shortage and avoiding transplant complications and rejection. Con arguments discuss the unknown health effects of cloned organs, risks to women whose eggs are used, and concerns that organ cloning could lead to human cloning. The document concludes that organ cloning is currently unethical and dangerous.

1. Organ CloningBy Julie Bartels and Lian ChisholmPeriod 6

2. Basic Principles of GeneticsTraits and characteristics are passed on from one generation of organisms to the next from the parents.Alleles are either dominant – shown over recessive when present- or recessive- masked when dominant allele is present.Organisms get one gene from each parent, having two alleles for each trait.Traits are passed through sex cells, which go through meiosis, so they have only half the alleles.

3. Human Genome ProjectGoals; ethical, legal, and social implications; and the changing of current laws.

4. GoalsTo identify all the approximately 20-25 thousand genes in human DNATo determine the 3 million chemical based pairs that make up human DNATo store this in information in databasesTo improve tools for data analysisTo transfer related technologies to the private sectorAddress the ethical, legal and social issues that may arise from the project

5. Ethical, Legal and Social ImplicationsShould insurers, employers, courts, schools, the military and adoption agencies have access to personal genetic information and how should they use it?Who owns the genetic information?How does the genetic information affect the society’s and individual’s perception of the individual?Should people be tested for diseases that are untreatable?How reliable and useful is fetal genetic testing?How will genetic tests be evaluated and regulated for accuracy, reliability, and utility?Do peoples genes make them behave in a particular way?Are genetically modified foods safe for consumers?

6. Changing of Current LawsMassachusetts: A “Genetic Bill of Rights” was created that would expand the rights of privacy for individuals’ genetic information.California and Vermont: Greater protection of an individual’s genetic information have been introduced under a new legislation.GINA: A law signed by President Shrubbery that will protect Americans from discrimination against their genetic information in health insurance and employment.

7. GENETIC DISORDERSCompare and contrasting single gene disorders,chromosome abnormalities, and multifactorial disorders

8. GENE DISORDERSSingle gene disorders are caused by only a single mutated cell. Some examples of single cell disorders are cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease and hemophilia.Chromosomal disorders are the result of too many or too few chromosomes.One example, Down syndrome is caused when a person’s cells have an extra copy of chromosome 21. This happens in meiosis, when the 21st chromosome of the parent cell doesn’t split correctly.Mulitifactorial gene disorders are caused by a mix of multiple mutations in genes combined with environmental factors. Some examples are heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

9. Genetic CounselingGenetic counseling is the process of evaluating a family’s genetic history and medical records, explaining the results of the genetic tests and helping parents decide what to do next.Genetic counseling can help parents expecting a child by helping them learn what to do to help their child.Then can help identify the risks of an inherited disorder, explain inheritance patterns, suggest testing, and lay out possible scenarios. They can help with emotional problems and provide support for the parents.They can use pedigrees to track your family history for a genetic disorder and your risk of having that disorder.

10. Karyotypes and Genetic DisordersYou can use a karyotype to map out your heredity.A regular karyotype has 46 chromosomes: 22 pairs of chromosomes and 2 sex chromosomes.When a genetic counselor does a karyotype of the baby they can figure out what disorders the baby might have by seeing which chromosomes are missing or extra in the DNA.This karyotype is of a person with Down syndrome. They have 3 copies of chromosome 21.

11. Organ CloningArguments for and against it.

12. Argument 1 Pro – Organ ShortageApproximately 81,000 people are currently waiting in the U.S. for vital organ transplants. More than 6,000 people die each year because they can’t get the organ transplants they need because of organ shortage.Although the number of organs being donated from living donors are increasing, the organs from living and deceased donors combined are still increasing at a lower rate than the number of transplant candidates.The number of available organs is too little for the rising demand of organs, especially kidneys. If people could clone organs, the demand might be lessened. They could clone a lot of organs pretty quickly.

13. Argument 2 Pro and Con- CostsSome of the costs that a transplant recipient would have are:insurance deductibles and co-pays pre-transplant evaluation and testing surgery and fees for the recovery of the organ from the donor follow-up care and testing and additional hospital stays for complications fees for surgeons, physicians, radiologist, anesthesiologist and recurrent lab testing anti-rejection and other drugs, which can easily exceed $2,500 per month and rehabilitation In the long-term, organ cloning would be much cheaper than transplant because of all the anti- rejection medications and a possible 2nd transplant.For therapeutic, or organ, cloning, it is much more expensive in the short-term. Some of the costs are:egg donors - $3000 to $5000 oocytes- approximately $2 millionthe transplant of the cloned organ

14. Argument 3 Pro- No ComplicationsWhen you get a transplant from an organ donor, you have a 10- 15% chance that your body will possibly reject the foreign organ, according to Dr. Mark Benfield. With cloning, it is your own organ, so your body will accept it. There is less risk of the need for a second transplant.You would not need the anti-rejection medicine.Anti-rejection medicines are also called immunosuppressants. They decrease the body’s ability to fight the new organ, also lowering the immune system’s ability to fight other diseases.

15. Argument 4 Con- What Next??If people can clone organs, what else can they clone? Organ cloning would be amazing for diseases that need transplants for cures. But, the people engineering organ cloning could start cloning people and other things that could be dangerous. If they clone people, they could create a higher race than humans and be treated differently.The technology needed for organ cloning is probably similar to what is needed for cloning humans.

16. Argument 5 Con- Unknown EffectsIf you clone an organ, you don’t know what side effects it might have. The organ could have foreign factors and hurt your body. The organ could fail or not function properly.Nobody has received a cloned organ yet, so nobody knows the consequences.Organ transplants can cause death, also.

17. Argument 6 Con- Wrong for WomenTo make a cloned organ, you have to use the embryo of a human. It’s wrong for women because it destroys the lives of human embryos.To make a cloned organ for one patient, they would have to use 16 women’s eggs. Women risk potential dangers from donating eggs, including:ovarian cysts, ruptures and cancersnegative effects on future fertilitypelvic painstrokedeath

18. ConclusionWe think that organ cloning is unethical and dangerous. For example, therapeutic cloning endangers the women whose eggs are used to create new embryos. It is unethical because it would be too easy to go from cloning organs for therapeutic use to cloning for new life. We don’t know the effects that cloning organs might have on the transplant recipient. We don’t think that taking this risk of creating human clones and bad effects of cloned organs is worth it. We do not think that federal funding should be given to organ cloning research because it is unethical and dangerous.

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20. Bibliography (continued)"Human Embryo | Royalty Free Stock Photo Image | IStockphoto.com." Stock Photography: Search Royalty Free Images & Photos | IStockphoto.com. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-9442343-human-embryo.php>.""Therapeutic" Cloning Is Potentially Dangerous to Women." Ethical Health Care. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ethicalhealthcare.org/articles/cloning_harms_women.pdf>.Benfield, Mark. "Repeated Transplant Rejection: Why Does It Happen? (Renalife)." American Association of Kidney Patients - Renal Information. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://www.aakp.org/aakp-library/repeated-transplant-rejection/>.