Human embryos cloned for treatment in Shandong

(CRI)
Updated: 2009-02-03 14:30

A research team at the Shandong Stem Cell Engineering Research Center has successfully cloned five human blastulas from 135 eggs on experiment, according to a press conference jointly held by the research center and a hospital in Yantai on Monday.

Human embryos are seen developed outside the human body, shown in this photo released on Monday, February 2, 2009 during a press conference arranged by Shandong Stem Cell Engineering Research Center. [nddaily.com]

Of the five cloned human blastulas, four were from skin fibrocytes of healthy donors while the other one was from lymphocytes of patients with Parkinson disease.

At the press release, leader of the research team, Li Jianyuan explained the newly invented cloning technology is expected to facilitate medical treatment for patients like the sufferers of Parkinson disease.

Prestigious expert in animal cloning, Chen Dayuan complimented the progress, saying the generation of human blastulas would hopefully heal patients by replacing cells and organs under pathological change with ones their bodies have developed healthily.

This way, rejection related to antisense gene transfer could be avoided.

The web edition of science journal "Cloning and Stem Cells" reported the Chinese scientific achievement on January 27, 2009.