• Question: Do you think cloning will be stable enough to work on humans in the foreseeable future?

    Asked by to Daren, Lynne, Phillip, Simon on 17 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Daren Fearon

      Daren Fearon answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      The issue with cloning humans is less to do with the science behind it and more to do with the ethical complications and the different types of cloning.

      How would you feel if you had a clone of yourself? Or how would you feel if you knew you were a clone of someone else? Would it be right to clone someone to use their organs to save people?

      It may be possible in the future to use human cells to clone organs for use in transplants and this is an area with a lot of research interest going into it. In this case the ethical issues revolve around how the human cells are obtained.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      I agree with Daren that cloning is a very moral and ethical problem.

      I think that in the future it’ll be quite common for us to clone parts of our own bodies – we might be able to grow new livers and kidneys for when the ones we currently have get old and start not working. I don’t think we’ll ever clone an entire person though.

    • Photo: Lynne Thomas

      Lynne Thomas answered on 17 Jun 2014:

      I agree with Daren and Jenny. Cloning gets at some very difficult ethical questions and it really gets to the bottom of the question, what makes us human and individuals? I think if we can use methods to grow new organs for people who need them, then this is a really positive way to use the technology. But we shouldn’t get complacent and not look after ourselves just because we can grow a new organ as and when we need it!

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