AIDS Research Should Not Destroy Human Embryos, CMDA Doctor Insists
by Mary Rettig
July 17, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A Christian medical professional is taking issue with an AIDS study that has reported successfully using embryonic stem cells to grow another type of cell destroyed by the HIV virus. He says researchers need to focus on other avenues in seeking a cure for AIDS and other immune system diseases. Investigators with the AIDS Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles say they have been able to genetically manipulate embryonic stem cells and coax them to develop into mature "T-cells" (thymus cells), a type of white blood cell that plays a central role in some of the body's natural immune response mechanisms. T-cells, one of the body's main defenses against disease, are destroyed by the AIDS virus.
The AIDS Institute's study, recently published in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reportedly found that human embryonic stem cells can be manipulated to turn into blood-forming stem cells that can in turn differentiate into the helper T-cells that HIV specifically targets. This outcome has raised investigators' hopes that a gene therapy to combat AIDS may be forthcoming.
Dr. John Green is Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of South Florida and a spokesman for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA). He says while finding a way to create T cells at a faster rate is a good idea, the AIDS Institute should not be focusing on embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR).
Even if progress is being made, Green observes, when any kind of medical research involves deliberately destroying a human life, the price is too high. "However, if there was a way to use adult stem cells acquired from cord blood or from some kind of adult source, that would be obviously ideal," he says.
The CMDA-affiliated physician believes AIDS researchers need to explore other avenues rather than ignore the ethical concerns and controversies surrounding ESCR. He points out that major strides have been made with drugs used to rebuild AIDS patients' immune systems.
No matter how much potential an avenue of research may promise for helping AIDS patients, Dr. Green notes, if human lives must be sacrificed to develop the treatment, that fact cannot be overlooked.
Mary Rettig, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
