Whither Gene Therapy?

Human beings have participated in the evolution process by selectively breeding and domesticating certain kinds of plants and animals while crossbreeding others. Although it was never termed so, we were practising genetic engineering by keeping the ones that were desirable and eventually eliminating the other. Thanks to the many advances in genetics and genetic engineering today, we are in a position to treat or eliminate a disease from the very root itself, the genes. This is called gene therapy where the corrected genes are introduced into the affected cells either using a viral vector or nanoparticle. Depending on the target cell type, gene therapy can be divided into somatic cell gene therapy and germline gene therapy, which are non-transferable and transferable respectively, to future generations. There are many obstacles to the use of viral vectors, like the unnecessary immunogenic response that it stimulates in the patient and the potential uncertainties or the outcome of this novel therapy. Ethical issues involve sourcing embryonic cells for research, taking consent of the individual who is an embryo, clinical trials, the risk of misuse of this technology to create a superior human class, the affordability of such treatments and the regulations that will govern such therapies. In this essay we take a closer look at the various issues surrounding the use of stem cells and how we see it evolving in the future and if we could ever fully reap the benefits of this revolutionizing technology without compromising our “humanness”