US NIH plans to lift chimera research ban, opens talkon policy revisions
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency under the US Department of Health & Human Services, is mulling over lifting the ban that blocked funding for experimentation that involves human stem cells and animal embryos. It has called on the public for comments on their proposed revisions to the guidelines for human-animal chimera research.
This could give scientists the chance to receive federal funding for the controversial chimera research, which aims to create life-saving organs like kidneys and pancreases for transplant patients.
The “NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research” policy was established in 2009 but because “growing knowledge and advancement of stem cell biology has created new research opportunities”, the agency is considering policy revisions. They will establish a steering committee to provide input on certain human-animal chimera research proposals.
“While there are significant challenges to creating chimeric models, there is clear interest and potential in producing animal models with human tissues or organs for studying human development, disease pathology, and eventually organ transplantation,” the NIH explained.
There is a current worldwide shortage in donor organs. In the US, 22 people die every day while waiting on transplant lists.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis and other institutions have been trying to tackle this problem by growing human organs inside animals such as pigs and cows. This mixture of human and animal DNA has been dubbed as a“chimera”.
There is a tremendous potential that this research will help with treating diseases and testing drugs, Carrie Wolinetz, associate director for science policy at the NIH, explained in a recent blog post. “However, uncertainty about the effects of human cells on off-target organs and tissues in the chimeric animals, particularly in the nervous system, raises ethical and animal welfare concerns,” she added.
Since human stem cells are used in this human-animal experimentation, some scientists are worried that these stem cells have the potential to create a human brain inside an animal. But the chance of an animal acquiring human consciousness is very slim, according to researchers.
In addition to growing human organs, this research could potentially produce treatment options for people with chronic and life-threatening diseases like diabetes, according to scientist Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California.
As of right now, human organs have not been successfully grown inside of animals because the embryos have been terminated after 28 days.
The ban on funding for chimera research remains in place while an NIH steering committee considers the new policy.
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