More than two years after the birth of twin girls with edited genomes, an advisory panel for the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new recommendations that uphold the agency’s initial reaction: that “it would be irresponsible to proceed with clinical applications of human germline genome editing.” Such concerns over manipulation of human embryos are shared by the international scientific community, but few countries have regulations in place for the responsible use of genome editing techniques, and when they do have guidelines, they are often unenforceable. The WHO’s 18-person expert panel has now come up with broad recommendations that address the scientific, ethical, social and legal implications raised by the prospect of editing the genome of a human embryo.
The first statement sets out five scenarios where gene editing might be applied—somatic genome editing for sickle cell disease, somatic gene editing for Huntington’s disease, somatic gene editing by “unscrupulous” actors, somatic gene and epigenetic editing for enhancement, and germline editing—and lays out the technical, ethical and societal issues that each faces. The second set of recommendations outlines the role that the WHO should undertake in establishing a moral and scientific leadership role. Among them are creating a registry of clinical trials involving gene editing and working with patent holders and regulatory agencies to insure that the technology, once developed, is widely accessible.
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