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> * Consent is tricky. The person who is affected is, by definition, not yet alive to offer consent. Given the potential consequences... it's something that is
by TomMarius 8y ago
> * Consent is tricky. The person who is affected is, by definition, not yet alive to offer consent. Given the potential consequences... it's something that is going to want a fairly involved discussion on how to properly seek consent.
Noone gives consent for their birth
> Furthermore, HIV transmission via paternal sperm donation is very easy to guard against with conventional methods; the gene knocked out may not have actually been sufficient to protect against the HIV strains the father had
Irrelevant, that it's not perfect doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. Many treatments are not perfect. Of course if it introduces new diseases then it's a problem, but dismissing it because it doesn't solve world hunger is weird.
- jcranmer 8y ago> Irrelevant, that it's not perfect doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. It's not a question of perfection. There are two strains of HIV, one that attacks CCR5, and another one where CCR5 is not involved. In Asia, the latter strain is more common than elsewhere in the world; about 25% or so of infections involve that strain. Dr. He appears to have made no attempt to actually ascertain which of the HIV strains were actually involved in the cases at hand. The evidence is pretty damning that Dr. He was not motivated to conduct a medical experiment; he was motivated to become the first person to achieve CRISPR in humans, and the medical experimentation was merely a means to do it.
- TomMarius 8y agoI was not referring to this particular case at all, I was speaking generally because I think the comment I replied to was also speaking generally. The fact that not all HIV strains might be cured (with this particular gene or any genes) does not mean we should not do it at all.