January 26th, 2020 | Written by - Sophia Casa '23
In late November of 2018, the world was captivated by the researcher and scientist, He Jiankui. He claimed to have created the first gene edited babies, who had been born earlier that month. But the global reaction was not positive, even resulting in He being detained by Chinese police in the January of 2019. Subsequently, on December 30th, he was sentenced to three years in prison and fined an amount that is roughly $430,000 (USD).
The twin girls (under the pseudonyms Lulu and Nana) were only one day old embryos when He and his colleagues used CRISPR, a gene editing tool, to deactivate the gene known as CCR5 (which enables a person to contract HIV). This essentially means that the girls would be able to resist HIV in the future. Currently in China, 1.5 million people live with the virus, including Lulu and Nana’s father. He himself even said that this technology would be helpful for families. But for all the wonder and fascination He findings were met with, a debate about the ethics of the experiment followed suit.
Many professionals in the field expressed skepticism, as there are many different and safer ways to prevent HIV rather than gene editing. Another criticism was the fact that messing with the girls’ genes, they could potentially make them more susceptible to other diseases, for example the West Nile virus. Many even said outright that what He and his colleagues did was not only a violation of human rights, but also the laws and restrictions on experiments put forward by the government of China.
As the case has developed, much more information about He Jiankui and his motives have been brought to light. Neither He nor his colleagues charged, Zhang Renli and Qin Jinzhou, have the qualifications to be doctors. It was also mentioned that there were not only two, but three edited babies that had been born using He’s practices. Finally it was noted that he acted in pursuit of fame and fortune rather than honest principles. But one must wonder, if He’s claim is true and the children grow up healthy and resistant to HIV, what does this mean for the medical community and humanity?
Kommentare