Germline editing must first resolve ethics issues, policy frameworks
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Germline editing won’t become a common practice until debates about ethics are concluded and policies are established.
For now, germline editing is banned in the United States and many other countries, although basic research into germline gene editing is underway.
Germline editing could alter specific genes of an egg, sperm cell, or early embryo. It could change, disrupt or correct faulty elements of DNA.
If germline editing is approved it may help many people suffering from genetic diseases. Germline editing could be incorporated into somatic therapies that transfer genetic material to specific cells. One theoretical possibility: It could be used to prevent a genetic disease in a yet-unborn person.
However, safety is a concern. Another is ethics, with weighty issues involved. And policies would need to be developed, with consideration of public input, regulation and oversight.
Challenges
In addition to governments in the U.S. and elsewhere, many scientists say there are too many questions about germline editing to allow its use on people.
The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, for example, has a list of concerns, including “off-target effects” that could cause more harm than good.
“ASGCT’s position on germline gene editing practices is in line with the universal international consensus in the scientific community that it is neither safe nor effective at this time to use gene editing technologies on germline cells to attempt to prevent disease in a yet-unborn person, and that there are currently too many unknowns about this process for clinical use to proceed,” the group said in a statement.
“Let’s talk about specific safety concerns. Because genetic diseases are inherited, clinical use of germline gene editing would have potential multigenerational effects when the treated embryo develops, is born, and passes on the edited genes to children of their own. The potential benefits and potential harms for both the edited individual and the larger population may not be fully known or appreciated within the lifetime of the treated patient, and many generations would need to be studied to understand the long-term effects.”
Policies also must be hammered out on numerous issues, such as funding, monitoring, clinical use, international collaboration, and others.
For more details, see the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy patienteducation.asgct.org/patient-journey/ethical-issues-germline-gene-editing
And the World Health Organization patienteducation.asgct.org/patient-journey/ethical-issues-germline-gene-editing.
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