Social and Ethical Issues in Biology

What is ethics?

Organ Transplants

Transplanting Organs

In Canada there are 14 organ donors per 1 million people.

In 2007, 4195 Canadians were waiting for organ transplants and of those 193 people died

Humans can donate any organs, common organs are kidneys, liver, lung, small bowel and pancreas

In some parts the world people are encouraged to sell their organs (India) for profit

Organs for Sale!

“organs and tissues should be freely given without commercial consideration or financial profit.”

“the very idea of organ scarcity has to be questioned. It’s an artificially created need, invented by transplant technicians and dangled before the eyes of an ever-expanding sick, aging, and dying population. And it’s a scarcity that can never under any circumstances be satisfied, for underlying the need is the quintessentially human denial and refusal of death.”

Organ transplant- ethical Q/A What are some ethical issues in selling and

purchasing organs? Is organ transplanting a ‘win-win situation? It

provides money for the seller and an organ for the buyer, is this a reason to approve the sale of organs?

Some people have suggested that legalizing the sale of organs would prevent the physical risks to the organ donor. Comment on this.

What is your opinion on organ transplants? Do you think it is an Islamically moral practice?

Advances in Cell Biology Treatment

Gene Therapy

Gene therapy involves replacing an absent or faulty gene with a normal gene Experimental procedure, in the future it

could be used to treat cancer ex. Apoptosis of cancer cells

Gene Therapy

Cloning

Cloning creates a genetically identical organism that is an exact copy of a gene, cell, tissue or organism In plants: grafting to make trees that

produce the exact same type of apple In animals: reproductive cloning,

gene cloning, therapeutic cloning sheep, monkeys, cows, pigs, dogs, cats,

mice and rats have been cloned using reproductive cloning

Cloning

Reproductive Cloning

Cloning

Gene Cloning- transfer of a gene into bacteria so that the gene can be reproduced multiple times, which makes it easier for scientists to do experiments (used in Gene Therapy)

Therapeutic Cloning- purpose is to harvest embryonic stem cells from a developing embryo. Can harvest embryonic and adult stem cells. Adult stem cells can be harvested to create tissue, which can replace any damaged tissues in the patient

Gene Therapy Q/A

What is gene therapy? How can gene therapy be used to

treat or prevent diseases? What is cloning Distinguish between the three types

of cloning in animals

Transgenic Techniques

Transgenic Techniques

Transgenic organisms contain the genes from other species. Ex. Glofish

Transgenic animals can be used to study the effects of diseases

Transgenic animals can be used to produce organs that can be used in human organ transplants in a process called xenotransplantation