The Tremendous Potential of Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering, the process of using genetic information from the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of cells to fix or improve genetic defects or maladies, has been developing for over twenty years. When Joseph Vacanti, a pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital, and Robert Langer, a chemical engineering professor at MIT, first met as researchers in the 1970’s, they had little knowledge of the movement they would help found. After they discovered a method of growing live tissue in the 1980’s, a new science was born, and it races daily towards new discoveries and medical breakthroughs (Arnst and Carey 60). “Tissue engineering offers the promise that failing organs and aging cells no longer be tolerated — they can be rejuvenated or replaced with healthy cells and tissues grown anew” (Arnst and Carey 58). The need for genetic engineering becomes quite evident in the promises it offers in various medical fields, as well to financial ones. Despite critics’ arguments about the morality or practicality of it, genetic engineering should continue to provide the essential benefits it has to offer without unnecessary legal impediment.

Every year, the need for new organs in organ transplants becomes more apparent. “I recognized fairly early that the biggest problem facing me as a surgeon was the shortage of organs. I’ve devoted my professional life to solving that problem,” Vacanti said (Arnst and Carey 60). Approximately eight million people in the United States undergo surgery annually to correct organ failure (Arnst and Carey 61). While these patients wait for surgery and others wait on the transplant list, their medical expenses reach up to $400 billion. These expenses count for almost one-half of American heath-care bills. Nearly four...

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