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China starts to tackle ethics of bio-research |
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Sunday, 20 November 2005 |
By Zhang Jun
Shanghai Daily
November 21, 2005
China expects to draw up a comprehensive set of ethics by 2010 to regulate research into the cloning of embryonic stem cells, clinical drug testing and genetically modified crops, a senior official with the Chinese Academy of Sciences said yesterday.
Though details weren't revealed, a group of Shanghai scientists has proposed a more concrete plan that could also feed into the national program.
China now bans the cloning of humans, but its present bio-ethics rules are otherwise general in nature.
Shen Mingxian, head of the ethics section of the Chinese National Human Genome Center in Shanghai, acknowledged that the "abuse" of human embryos has occurred in China and that foreign scientists have criticized the country's lack of safeguards. Shen did not elaborate on the problem cases.
Progress on establishing a firm code of ethics was a major topic of discussion at yesterday's 67th session of the city-based Eastern Science and Technology Forum.
Thirty-five Chinese and foreign scholars were attending the two-day event for discussions on the topic "Ethical and Legal Issues of Research Cloning and Human Embryo Administration."
"We should by no means disregard ethics or infringe on human rights and dignity for the sake of science," Chen Zhu, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the forum.
Chen said the country needs to speed up its undeveloped bio-ethics to guarantee the advancement of stem-cell research.
"Hopefully, stem-cell research will re-shape medical science in the 21st century," he said.
Scientists hope to use stem cells from human embryos to treat diseases affecting human organs. Stem cells are unspecified cells that give rise to specialized cells.
Chen also said ethical rules are needed for the proper development of clinical drug research and genetically modified food.
Though there is no proof that genetically modified food harms human health, that doesn't mean it is completely safe for consumption, he said. Therefore, proper rules for regulating GM food is necessary, according to Chen.
Also at the forum, Shen from the Shanghai human genome center unveiled the country's first draft codes for use in regulating the cloning of human embryos for the treatment of disease.
The draft would disallow the use of laboratory-produced human embryos older than two weeks. The two-week-period is defined by some scientists as the point at which embryos to start to grow into a life.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 December 2005 )
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