Success of Human Embryo Cloning Using Cow Ova

A domestic research team has succeeded in cloning human embryo by extracting human cell nucleus and transplanting them into cow’s ova.

Maria Infertility Hospital Medical Institute’s Dr. Park Se-Pil team announced, on the 8th, their success of producing a cloned embryo that has over 99 Per Cent of human genes, after extracting nucleus from ear cells of a lady in her 30s and transplanting into cow’s de-nucleated ova.

Although the research team gained its first success of cloning in last October, it did not publicize the results immediately, but has now announced them as the Ministry of Science and Technology positively examined permission for human embryo cloning for treatment purposes (article on the 7th, page A1).

Dr. Park said, “We’ve been researching to extract treatment-purpose stem cells from cloned embryos, but have not succeeded yet. Nowhere in the world has succeeded to attain stem cells from cloned embryos.”

Cloned embryos are results of fusion between human cell nucleus and cow’s ova, and they have human genetic characteristics, except for mitochondria genes in cytoplasm of cow’s ova.

“Because genes in nucleus of cloned embryos are 100 Per Cent human, stem cells that are extracted from them can be differentiated into cells or tissues to be transplanted in human bodies without rejections, and incurable diseases can be treated that way.”, said Dr. Park.

Dr. Park also explained that “current success rate of embryo cloning is 1 out 10, and that is why large quantity of ova is needed. But it was difficult to get providers’ agreements, so cow’s ova were used in the research for the past 2 years.”

Meanwhile, Bioethics Joint-Campaign Team, consisting of 68 religious, feminine, environmental, and private organizations, has begun to urge the Ministry of Science and Technology to legislate life ethics laws that prohibit human embryo cloning.

dongho@donga.com