Health Risks for Human Cloning

Cloning is the procedure of creating a newborn human that is genetically identical to another. The process involves replacing the nucleus of an egg cell with that of another adult. The egg then divides, creating an embryo or "blastocyst." The blastocyst is implanted to form a fetus, with the exact same genes as the adult. However, this procedure is not always effective; more than 90 percent of cloning attempts fail due to serious health risks.

Short Life

• According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it would take 100 transfer procedures to create one successful clone. This does not guarantee a full lifespan for those that survive; cloned animals have weaker immune systems and higher susceptibility to disease and disorder. Approximately a third of cloned animals die young.

Malfunctioning Genomes

• Genomes, or the genetic makeup of the clones, are compromised during the process. Researches at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research analyzed more than 10,000 placenta and liver cells of cloned mice, finding that 4 percent of the genes had abnormalities. This can cause a host of genetic disorders, ranging from cancer to Down syndrome.

Imprinting Errors

• In normal human reproduction, DNA is chemically imprinted from both the mother and father, and only one copy of a gene is activated. Since cloning DNA is only imprinted from a single parent, it can lead to error and developmental abnormalities in the clone.

Donor Risks

• Human experimentation can lead to negative health results in the donor. To donate eggs, the donor would need to undergo surgery, which is inherently high risk. Also, attempts to increase egg production in the donor using high levels of hormones would create a risk factor.