Pre-Health Discussion Forum: Gene Therapy

Current gene therapy research has focused on treating individuals by targeting the therapy to body cells such as bone marrow or blood cells. This type of gene therapy cannot be passed to a person’s children. Gene therapy could be targeted to egg and sperm cells (germ cells), however, which would allow the inserted gene to be passed to future generations. This approach is known as germline gene therapy. Because gene therapy involves making changes to the body’s set of basic instructions, it raises many unique ethical concerns. The ethical questions surrounding gene therapy include: 1. How can “good” and “bad” uses of gene therapy be distinguished? 2. Who decides which traits are normal and which constitute a disability or disorder? 3. Will the high costs of gene therapy make it available only to the wealthy? 4. Could the widespread use of gene therapy make society less accepting of people who are different? 5. Should people be allowed to use gene therapy to enhance basic human traits such as height, intelligence, or athletic ability? Attached is some reading material on the issue. Please skim them before the discussion. It will provide sufficient background. This discussion will focus on the ethics of gene therapy.

Categories	audience::Students
When	Oct 25, 2018 from 01:00 pm to 02:00 pm
Hosting organization	Pre-Health Advising
Speaker	N/A
Speaker Information	N/A
Where	Hunter East 710
Contact Email	premed@hunter.cuny.edu
Contact Phone	2127725244
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