S. Korea: Donor Issue Slows Stem Cell Progress(S. Korea Crisis May Affect U.S. Debate)

Washington Post ^ | 11/20/05 | Rick Weiss

[TigerLikesRooster]

Donor Issue Slows Stem Cell Progress

S. Korea Crisis May Affect U.S. Debate

By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 20, 2005; A06

An ethics crisis at one of the world's most successful human embryonic stem cell laboratories has plunged the controversial field of research into a new swirl of uncertainty, with U.S. scientists nervously wondering if the scandal will grow into a new wave of political backlash.

The accusations surrounding Korean cloning expert Woo Suk Hwang of Seoul National University -- the first scientist to grow stem cells inside cloned human embryos -- has already killed a spate of planned studies that sought to prove the cells' medical potential.

But the claims that Hwang may have obtained human eggs for his studies from women who felt pressured to donate are also reigniting a long-smoldering debate in the United States over the ethics of paying young women for their eggs, which are difficult to obtain but essential to the production of stem cells tailored to individuals.

Egg donation, which is generally safe but occasionally leads to serious and even life-threatening complications, has been a wedge issue in the stem cell debates, linking feminists and other liberal thinkers to conservatives who favor tighter limits on stem cell research.

With a wide range of stem cell bills primed for congressional action as early as January, the South Korean meltdown could bolster those seeking stronger limits.

"We're in danger of making women into guinea pigs for this research even before there are any treatments to be tested," said Marcy Darnovsky, associate director of the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland, Calif., a pro-choice public policy group that favors stronger oversight of egg donation and other biomedical technologies. "We really need clear rules that someone is enforcing."

[TigerLikesRooster]

I had the feeling that the whole Hwang Woo-suk saga would come to something like this. There were way too much hype, Dr. Hwang was on just about every media event, apparently enjoying sudden surge of attention nationally and internationally. He did not handle the media well. He sometimes generated his own hype, proclaiming that he would be willing to do a stem cell project with N. Koreans. He was pandering to S. Korean government and its supporters. And he apparently glossed over some serious ethical problem on his way of procuring human eggs.

Watching him on news is like watching him riding a shaky rollercoaster which may fall apart any minute. S. Korean government has joined the bandwagon and given all-out sponsorship to his stem cell research in order to make it their showcase of success. As usual, they lack professionalism and competence. Their darling has just crashed.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Citizen Tom Paine]

A couple of years ago, I took a Freshman biology class to see what I was missing. Being an old government bureaucrat, I answered an essay question on stem cell and DNA research with something like this. "We will heal the sick, we will make the desert bloom, we will raise the dead - just send money." In short much of it is a device to raise money for projects and build personal egos. In so doing many embryos are sacrificed.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #3

Was your instructor happy with your answer?:)