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American Morning
Scientists Use Embryos to Harvest Stem Cells
Aired July 11, 2001 - 10:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: The battle over embryo research has shifted now to a Virginia laboratory where scientists have created, for the first time, human embryos made for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells. That research, which could some day cure cancer and other diseases, has previously used only embryos from fertility treatments and even that approach has fueled heated debate on medical, religious and on ethical grounds.
Now for a closer look at this complex issue, let's turn to CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Thank you for joining us this morning, doctor.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
FRAZIER: First of all, let's talk about the efficiency of these stem cells. They can become anything. They're hugely important in terms of medical research.
GUPTA: That's right. Embryonic stem cells are, they can turn into any sort of cell line and potentially treat all sorts of diseases, from heart disease, cardiac disease to spinal cord transplantation to things like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's and that's because these cells can develop into any sort of cell. They're really not differentiated at all in the embryonic phase.
FRAZIER: The research that's been conducted so far has been with almost, it's almost a harsh word, but with discards. Couples go in seeking fertility treatments. They create embryos. They create more than they might need. Some of them are frozen for use later and if the couple is lucky enough to conceive then those become extras.
GUPTA: Right. And this is different. This is different because for the first time they're actually creating embryos really for the sole purpose, the sole intent purpose of research, research these embryos and potentially discard those later on. So they're not embryos that are being created with the possibility of fertility later on down the line. They're being created solely for the prospect of research and they will be destroyed. So that distinguishes this a little bit from previously.
FRAZIER: Now, the creation of these embryos is with the consent of donors of eggs and sperm. Everybody knows what the ultimate use will be. GUPTA: Correct. They are volunteers. They're actually paid volunteers for this particular study. I read the figures, I think for each egg about $1,500 or so.
FRAZIER: But, of course, an awful lot of controversy, not on medical grounds, but on ethical and religious sometimes.
GUPTA: Yes, and the debate continues. You know, the, in the past certainly if a, there are some that argue a sperm and an egg coming together in a petri dish doesn't really constitute life. When that embryo is then implemented in the uterus, that constitutes life. And the debates have been skewed. There's a lot of gray areas here and we've been down this road before and we'll likely be down that again.
You know, when the cells divide, they eventually form what's called a blastocyst, which is a group of cells, and that eventually can go into several different cell lines. But exactly where that blastocyst is, either in a petri dish or in a uterus, is sort of the point of contention.
FRAZIER: It's the moment of conception, according to one religious point of view, that the instant of conception, not this blastocyst or any other later stage, so that's where the controversy arises.
GUPTA: That's right.
FRAZIER: Some people are hoping that we can just duck the whole controversy by using stem cells that are within the adult human body rather than embryonic cells.
GUPTA: Correct.
FRAZIER: What's the status of that work?
GUPTA: Well, the proponents of embryonic stem cell research will argue that an embryonic stem cell actually has the potential to divide into all sorts of different cell lines, heart cell, neurological cell, bones, muscle, all sorts of different things. And when it gets to be an adult stem cell it has differentiated a little bit more and doesn't have quite the luxury of dividing into all these cell lines like an embryonic. So although maybe useful, not quite as useful as an embryonic stem cell.
FRAZIER: And not a direct substitute for that?
GUPTA: Not a direct substitute.
FRAZIER: All right, that helps put it in perspective.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for joining us this morning with a complicated issue, but a newsworthy one.
GUPTA: Thank you.
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