Pros And Cons Of Mitochondrial Donation

158 Words1 Page

Recently mitochondrial transplants, mitochondrial donations, also referred to mitochondrial replacement has become a predominant topic in the medical community, chiefly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Mitochondrial transplants would mean that couples who want to have a child, but the mother has defective mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA) could receive mitochondria from a donation. Therefore, the child would not be born with a mitochondrial disease. People who are diagnosed with mitochondrial disease have a life expectancy of nine months to fifty years, depending on when the person developed the disease. Both sides of this argument have valid opinions. Matt Ridley and Françoise Baylis wrote

Show More
Related

  • Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Essay

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...hromosome and the disease/disorder is passed down in an X linked recessive fashion. Symptoms include muscle weakening and wasting, and pain in the lower body. Mostly only the lower body’s muscles are affected causing the child to have to be confined to a wheelchair. The best way to diagnose Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is by doing a muscle biopsy to test for abnormal dystrophin levels. There is no treatment for the disease/disorder itself, but only for the symptoms of it. The average age of death in males with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is the late thirty’s. Most deaths are caused by breathing complications or heart problems like cardiomyopathy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy on average affects one in thirty five hundred male births worldwide. Overall, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is very hard to live with and affects many boys around the world.

    Read More

  • Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, also known as psuedohypertrophic muscular dystrophy, is a typical sex-linked disorder in which the muscles degenerate throughout a person's life. It literally means "faulty nutrition of the muscles." Muscular Dystrophy has no cures, and this particular type of muscular dystrophy affects only males. One in 3,500 baby boys are born with this disorder and survival is rare beyond the early 30s, death is usually caused by a respiratory disease. (ygyh.org)

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Therapeutic Cloning

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therapeutic cloning is the process whereby parts of a human body are grown independently from a body from STEM cells collected from embryos for the purpose of using these parts to replace dysfunctional ones in living humans. Therapeutic Cloning is an important contemporary issue as the technology required to conduct Therapeutic Cloning is coming, with cloning having been successfully conducted on Dolly the sheep. This process is controversial as in the process of collecting STEM cells from an embryo, the embryo will be killed. Many groups, institutions and religions see this as completely unacceptable, as they see the embryo as a human life. Whereas other groups believe that this is acceptable as they do not believe that the embryo is a human life, as well as the fact that this process will greatly benefit a large number of people. In this essay I will compare the view of Christianity who are against Therapeutic Cloning with Utilitarianism who are in favour of Therapeutic Cloning.

    Read More

  • Use of Human Fetal Tissue in Research is Morally Repugnant

    2072 Words  | 5 Pages

    The argument for fetal research is fairly straightforward. Because of the unique characteristics of cells from human beings in early stages of development, research on embryos and fetuses may provide key weapons in the fight against disease. Fetal tissue holds promise in treating Parkinson’s disease, in ending certain kinds of paralysis, in helping those with diabetes, MS, as well as in treating patients with Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. Others have argued that fetal tissue holds promise for treatment of sickle cell anemia, leukemia, and AIDS. Fetal retinal transplants may be a promising treatment for some 100,000 Americans suffering from old age blindness.

    Read More

  • Henrietta Lacks Tragedy

    2071 Words  | 5 Pages

    Often in the darkest time it is good to seek relief in the good of every situation. With the death of a Mother, Daughter, and contributing member in society, it may be hard to try and find any positivity to draw from. With the unfortunate and untimely death of Henrietta, came the opportunity of life to millions of others in society then, now, and for many years to come. The goal of medical research is to put society as a whole in a better place than it was at the day before. The use of HeLa cells in every developed country on the globe has made this objective much more achievable. The Lacks family led the way for the consent form being required for patients undergoing a medical procedure Although, there was no direct benefit to the family, raising many ethical considerations that must be

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Organ Donation

    1939 Words  | 4 Pages

    Mandatory organ donation would consist of passing a law wherein the government mandates organ donation from every person who dies. In other words, unless a person chooses to opt out of the donation process, he or she is automatically an organ donor by law. According to Spranger (2012), organ donation is a gift of life and by donating organs after we die, we can literally bring someone back to life. It is a pretty good gesture; however, it could be argued that everyone should want to donate their organs when they die and consent for donation should be speculated. One of the arguments against mandatory organ donation is you don't own your body once you die. The assumption is that the body would belong to the government and not to the family.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Mitochondrial DNA

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this lab we amplified a region of DNA that is found in the mitochondria. Mitochondria have their own set of DNA. Mitochondrial DNA has “16,500 DNA building blocks (base pairs), representing a small fraction of the total DNA in cells. — Mitochondrial DNA contains 37 genes,” (Genetics Home Reference, NIH, 2014) The part of the DNA that we amplified was the D-loop region. This part of the mitochondrial genome is the origin of replication for the mitochondria. This part of the mitochondria is also “prone to somatic mutation, which are a type of non-inherited mutation.” (Genetics Home Reference, NIH, 2014) One’s mitochondrial DNA is only inherited from the maternal side. The reason why is because when “an egg cell is fertilized, nuclear chromosomes from a sperm cell enter the egg and combine with the egg’s nuclear DNA producing a mixture of both parents’ genetic code.” (Groleau, PBS, 2014) Since the mtDNA is the exact same as the mother’s one can trace back the lineage of their maternal side and trace from what part of the world they are descended from. The mtDNA contains a history storybook of the travels and nomadic paths their ancestors took before their creation. The purpose of amplifying this region of mtDNA is to trace back our lineage.

    Read More

  • Xenotransplantation Persuasive Speech

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the world we’re living in today, many kinds of diseases, infections, and viruses are continuously arising. At the same time, scientists are untiringly researching about how we can prevent or cure them. Unfortunately, millions of people have been affected and sick that some of their organs fail that results to the need of organ replacement. Many people have died because no organs have been available to provide the need of organ replacements. The shortage of organ replacement has been a bioethical issue since then and it seems like no solution has been available. However, due to the studies scientists have been conducting, they found the most possible answer to this issue – Xenotransplantation. It hasn’t become very popular all over the

    Read More

  • Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy Essay

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mitochondria are organelles in cells that provide energy, and they have their own DNA. Sometimes, mitochondrial DNA has mutations in it, causing rare, deadly, and incurable diseases. Women who have defective mitochondria can pass these diseases onto their children, but mitochondrial replacement therapy allows these women to have healthy babies that are free from mitochondrial disease. Mitochondrial replacement therapy is helpful and useful for women with defective mitochondria who want to, or are attempting to, have children. The therapy is designed to prevent faulty mitochondrial DNA from being passed down because it causes deadly diseases that often have no cure.

    Read More

  • Essay On Muscular Dystrophy

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    Duchenne muscular dystrophy, also known as DMD, the most common type of muscular dystrophy, is caused by the incorrect information with the gene that generates a protein called dystrophin. The function of this protein is to help muscle cells keep their strength and shape. Without the presence of this protein, muscles begin to deteriorate and a person’s health becomes weaker. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is one of the types that affect boys, and symptoms of the disease begin to show between the ages of two and six. Most children with duchenne muscular dystrophy will require transportation by wheelchair by the age of ten or twelve. Patients with duchenne muscular dystrophy may experience heart c...

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Cloning

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the novel “Frankenstein”, by Mary Shelley came out in 1831 the general public was introduced to the idea of man creating another man scientifically; without the use of reproduction. This idea is still very interesting today, however many ethical problems are implicated when scientists, like Victor Frankenstein, disrupt the moral and ethical standards like many modern day scientists have done today with cloning. The astronomical effects that followed after the creation of The Monster, demonstrates the horrid fact that creating a human was not natural or ethical.

    Read More

  • Organ Donation Pros And Cons

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    The question arises about the ethics of making organ donation mandatory. From religions to freedom to fear, there are many pros and cons between the legality of the situation, but it all boils down to the freedom citizens have been given, which makes mandatory organ donation unethical. Lately, this has been an increasingly debated topic worldwide, as many people question the ethics of making organ donation mandatory. Organ transplantation is a surgical procedure, where a failing or damaged organ is replaced with a new one, either from a living or deceased donor. Any part of the body that performs a specialized function is classified as an organ. People can become organ donors by listing it on their driver’s license or signing a document with

    Read More

  • Organ Transplant: The Positive Effects Of Organ Donation

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    One single organ donor can save the lives of eight people and that same donor can help to improve health conditions of fifty other people as said by an article on facts about donation. Organ donation is when a living or deceased person's organs are taken out by medical physicians and surgically inserted into another person's body to help improve their health condition. The receiver and donor of the organ are not the only people affected by the transplant. Families of the donor will often become relieved knowing that their loved one will be continuing to help needy people even after they are gone and the families of the receiver will also sleep better knowing that there is still a chance that someone could help the medical status of their loved one. Organ transplant has also overcome many scientific challenges. Jekyll’s actions in Dr.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Becoming An Organ Donor

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    The decision to become an organ donor is one that should not be taken lightly. The decision to become a donor could potentially save the lives of up to 10 people. If organ donation has such positive outcomes, why does New Zealand have such a low donor rate? Many New Zealanders chose not to become donors for various reasons. Some of which are the lack of understanding about the circumstances that come with organ or tissue donation. For a listed donor to actually donate their organs after death, they must have suffered severe, irreversible, brain injury and died in such a way that they are in a hospital on life support, keeping their organs alive. They are then tested for brain death. Brain death is a state when, after an injury to the brain, their brain stem is no longer active. Many people choose not to become a donor because they misunderstand brain death and confuse it for a coma. The key difference between brain death and a coma is that comatose patients are sending out brain signals while brain dead people are not. While many people choose not to be a donor due to their lack of understanding on the circumstances that come with organ or tissue donation, others choose not to due to their in depth understanding of the system. The brain death exams involve a few simple tests. Ice water is splashed into the ears to look for shivering in the eyes, the eyes are poked with a cotton swab, any gag reflexes are checked and the ventilator is disconnected to see if the patient is able to breathe without it. Some are shocked to discover that brain dead patients are not tested for higher brain activity. It was recommended to use

    Read More

  • Neurodegenerative Disease Gender

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    The neurodegenerative diseases include a wide range of acute and chronic conditions in which there is a loss of neurons or and glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. For example, there is a loss of dopamine neurons in Parkinson’s disease, and motor neurons in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.1 The study we will be conducted is intended to research on how gender affect transfer of mitochondrial, and or exosomes as a stem cell repair mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases.

    Read More

More about Pros And Cons Of Mitochondrial Donation

Open Document