Embriões, células-tronco e terapias celulares: questões filosóficas e antropológicas

AS THE possibility of therapeutic cloning in humans has just been demonstrated by a Corean group of researchers, the paper argues that biotechnologies of that kind may contribute to alleviate the chronic shortage of organs and tissues for transplantation. Ever since immunosuppressant drugs have become available, transplantation surgery has made considerable progress, and the procurement of transplants, especially from living donors, has been problematic. The investigation of the properties of (adult or embryonic) stem cells opened great hopes. Conditions such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, m...