Social and Ethical Issues in Biology

1. Social and Ethical Issues in Biology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5im0Ssyyus

2. Organ Transplantation • The moving of an organ from one body to another to replace the recipient's damaged organ • The number of organ donors are low • In 2007, 4195 Canadians waited for organ transplants and 193 of those people died while waiting

3. Living Donor • A live person who donates organs • Organs include: kidney, liver, lung, small bowel, pancreas • Kidney is most common • A person can lead a normal life with just one kidney

4. Supply and Demand • There is a shortage of tissues and organs all over the world • The supply does not meet the demand

5. Other strategies for obtaining more organs • Animal-to-human transplants (Xenotransplantation) • From deceased donors (brain-dead)

6. Controversial Practices • In some countries, people are encouraged to sell their organs • In India, poor and destitute people can sell their organs to desperate patients for money • The World Health Organization estimate that in 2006, about 6000 people received kidneys obtained in this manner

7. Controversial Practices • Some people also have their organs removed without their consent • In 2004, British journalist and broadcaster Alistair Cooke died in NYC at 95 • The funeral parlour owner made a deal with Biomedical Tissue Services and sold Mr. Cooke’s body parts

8. Controversial Practices • He was one of over 1000 cadavers taken from funeral parlours and cemeteries across the Eastern USA over a period of four years • This practice has been increasing as our techniques of transplantation have improved

9. Advances in Cell Biology Technology • Recent advances in technology have enabled scientists to develop new strategies to treat diseases • Gene therapy, cloning, transgenic and reproductive techniques

10. Gene Therapy • Replacing an absent or faulty gene with a normal gene • The normal gene can ensure the cells of the affected organ functions normally

11. Gene Therapy • A virus is modified to carry the normal gene of a cell • It is then injected into the patient, where it will infect the cells and add the replacement genes to the host cell’s DNA • Still an experimental procedure • Could be used to treat cancer, inherited diseases, and some viral infections

12. Cloning • Technique that creates a genetically identical organism that is an exact copy of the original http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2005/0811-cloned_apples.htm

13. Cloning in Plants • Done for many years • Vegetative Propagation • Taking a cutting from a plant and allowing it to root and produce another plant

14. Cloning in Plants • Grafting • The roots of one type of fruit tree are attached to the shoots of another more desirable type of fruit tree

15. Cloning in Animals • Cloning humans is theoretically possible • Moral and ethical issues • Eg. What if parents would be able to choose and design their offspring? • Reproductive Cloning • Gene Cloning • Therapeutic Cloning

16. Reproductive Cloning • The transfer of a nucleus from a donor body cell into an egg cell that has no nucleus • The egg is transferred to the womb of a mother and begins to grow • May be useful in cloning endangered animals

18. Gene Cloning • The transfer of a gene into bacteria so that the gene can be reproduced multiple times • By cloning genes, scientists can have more copies of the gene so that they can do experiments easily

19. Therapeutic Cloning • Similar to reproductive cloning • The purpose is to harvest embryonic stem cells from a developing embryo • Stem cells have the ability to produce different types of cells • The harvested stem cells are used to regrow healthy tissue in place of damaged tissue • The stem cells would be modified to have the same genetic material as the patient

21. Transgenic Techniques • Transgenic organisms contain genes from other species

22. Reproductive Technologies