Monday, April 6, 2015

Babies from same-sex couples possible thorugh stem cell research



Scientists at Cambridge University and the Weizmann Institute in Israel have made a breakthrough in stem cell research that will allow same sex couples to have babies.  They have found that it is possible to create human egg and sperm cells from skin, helping gay and lesbian couples, as well as sterile couples have children of their own.   
The skin from five adults was taken and used to create stem cells that make eggs and sperm.  “In total, they have created new cell lines from ten different donor sources - five embryos and five adults.”  The engineered cells were compared to those of human fetuses and it is said the process will be able to provide same sex couples with a baby in no more than two years.
This procedure has already sparked interest in gay communities because of the possibility of creating a baby from two people of the same sex.  Also, because the cells are created on a slide outside of the human body, the cells do not age the way they are meant to meaning that mutations are most likely to not be passed on to the next generation making it even more desirable.
Gays and lesbians have to go through so much throughout their lives in an attempt to be accepted by others and to be treated as equals.  I think it is an amazing thing that scientists are attempting to find ways to allow them to have a child of their own.  Adoption is a long, hard process with no guarantee of a child but this process seems to be a lot more reliable. I would love to see more discussion of this project in the future and I hope to see it completely enacted and helping the gay community in two years time.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting article and very controversial procedure. I imagine that there could be issues with development of the fetus which could lead to ethical issues that may prevent this from actually happening.

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  2. This is very interesting! I'm very interested to see how much further this develops.

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