Therapeutic cloning

Somatic cell nuclear transfer for the isolation of embryonic stem cells. The embryonic stem cells are derived from the blastocyst (before it becomes a fetus) and can be instructed to form particular cell types (e.g. heart muscle) to be implanted into damaged tissue (e.g. heart) to restore its function. If the stem cells are placed back into the individual who gave the DNA for the somatic cell nuclear transfer, the embryonic stem cells and their derivatives are genetically identical and thus immunocompatible (they will not be rejected). Also see entries for Cloning and Reproductive cloning.

The goal of therapeutic cloning is to create cells that exactly match a patient. By combining a patient's somatic cell nucleus and an enucleated egg, a scientist may harvest embryonic stem cells from the resulting embryo that can be used to generate tissues that match a patient's body. This means the tissues created are unlikely to be rejected by the patient's immune system. See also Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).

The potential use of stem cells to grow, in vitro, tissue or organs for use in transplantation. Because these cells would be obtained from, and would therefore be genetically identical to the patient's own cells, problems of transplant rejection would be overcome. The technique would also remove the difficulty of identifying an organ donor.