The Physical Dangers of Human Cloning

Human cloning presents a number of physical dangers addressed by organizations and institutes studying the process. In addition to possible implications on the cloned individual, donors may also be negatively impacted. Many of these dangers are cited by legislators as a reason to limit or ban experimentation into human cloning.

Function

• According to a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, many cloned fetuses die before birth due to the misreading of genetic code. Despite the fact that genes can be turned on or off, usually this process is not expressed properly.

Features

• Papers from both the Roslin Institute of Scotland and Cornell University address the prevalence of defects observed in cloned animals. The most notable of these include liver and brain defects, increased birth size and a number of problems with the lungs, kidneys and cardiovascular system.

Effects

• Increased levels of ovulation are necessary for egg retrieval from females in order to clone humans. According to a 2000 article in "Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology," hormonal treatments given to women result in risks to future reproduction ability.

Significance

• Cloned animals suffer from effects such as premature aging, failure of the immune system and occasionally sudden death. The President's Council on Bioethics addressed concerns in the early 21st century about these effects on humans.

Considerations

• As a person ages, many people's cells develop genetic mutations. These mutations, according to the New York Times, may be passed to cloned individuals resulting in a higher prevalence of diseases such as cancer.