‘Claims that allowing GM embryos will ‘give a massive boost to IVF success rates’ are pure spin aimed at seducing regulators into giving a green light for highly controversial research,’ said Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship.
In January, research scientist Dr Kathy Niakan, from the Francis Crick Institute in London, made her case to be the first in the UK to be allowed to genetically modify human embryos. Niakan wants to use a new technique called Crispr-Cas9 to ‘edit’ genes in day-old human embryos left over from IVF in order to discover what role they play in normal embryo development. The research is highly controversial, and results in the destruction of the embryos.
International criticism is mainly driven by concerns about safety and unforeseen consequences – introducing genetic changes into a day old embryo will mean that any genetic change will be expressed in every cell of the developing human being, including reproductive cells.
Although gene editing to treat some genetic disease in mature human beings appears to have huge early promise (eg a patient saved from terminal leukaemia in the UK), gene editing in embryos (germline gene editing) has so far only been attempted (unsuccessfully) in China. Usually research like this needs to be conducted exhaustively using animals before it is attempted in humans.
False claims
It is argued that research is necessary because miscarriages and infertility are extremely common, but not very well understood and could lead to improvements in infertility treatment. This claim, propagated uncritically, is highly misleading, and lacking virtually any evidence base.
The fact is that the major reasons for embryo-related IVF failure and miscarriages are chromosomal abnormalities rather than problems with individual genes.
