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Pastimes : Human Cloning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neenny who wrote (2)	1/29/2001 7:41:17 PM
From: TimF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24

I think a lot of the horror some people have at cloning is a bit over the top. Cloning is basically creating a delayed identical twin. It is no more an exact copy of the person cloned then is a regular identical twin. It creates a separate person. I can see being strongly against cloning if you are against artificial insemination and test tube babies and other "unnatural" interference in human reproduction, but if you have no problem with these things I can't see how cloning is so much worse. Tim

To: Neenny who wrote (2)	1/29/2001 10:51:31 PM
From: Apex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24

Friday 26 January 2001 Organ scandal hospital 'sold' children's glands Alder Hey Children's Hospital News - Department of Health Royal College of Pathologists General Medical Council THE hospital at the centre of an organ-retention scandal admitted today that it gave a pharmaceutical firm body parts from living children in return for financial donations. Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, said thymus glands removed from youngsters during heart operations were sent to the company for research purposes between 1991 and 1993. The mother of a baby boy whose organs were removed and stored by Alder Hey without her consent said she was appalled at the latest disclosure. Health Minister John Hutton said the development was "absolutely horrifying". The revelation comes only days before the findings of an independent inquiry into the organ retention will be presented to Parliament. The company, which has not been named but is thought to be French, donated money to the hospital's cardiac department after receiving the thymus glands. An Alder Hey spokeswoman said: "In some cases to carry out complex heart surgery it is necessary for the thymus gland to be removed. The hospital can confirm that for a brief period between 1991 and 1993, these were made available to a pharmaceutical company for research, and that we are aware that, during that period, contributions were made to the trust's cardiac department." She refused to confirm how many children were involved. Paula O'Leary, of the families' support group Pity2, said she was "appalled" by the disclosure. Mrs O'Leary, of Bootle, Merseyside, asked: "What right have they got to treat our children like that? "It is bad enough that they treated them with disrespect after their death, but disgraceful that they did this when they are alive. I keep saying, 'There can be nothing worse to come out', but each new week brings an horrific revelation." The Health Minister, John Hutton, said it was "absolutely horrifying" that organs were removed from children and given to pharmaceutical companies without parents being informed. He said: "As a parent I think consent is the important issue here. If the parents have consented then it's fine, but if they haven't then it's totally unacceptable." The Government would be setting out its proposals dealing with this issue and the earlier organ retention controversy at Alder Hey in the near future, he added. The thymus gland, a vital part of the immune system, is made up of two parts and lies in the upper area of the chest, close to the heart. The two lobes, named thymus because they resemble a bunch of thyme flowers, produce healthy cells to attack foreign substances around the body.