"Abstinence is freedom – from disease, unplanned pregnancy, guilt, broken hearts. One of my teenage patients was thrilled when I gave her permission to be abstinent!"
--Scott Leeth, M.D., Family Practice
Notes on Cloning by Embryo Splitting (2009)
From the files of Dr Dianne Irving .....
FYI -- short list of references from studies recently published in PubMed concerning the endorsement and use of cloning by "embryo splitting" as "infertility treatments, and the push by lawyers to change and deconstruct the critical and accurate scientific terms of human embryology in law for "new practices and new times".
With these new fabricated "scientific" terms, the public won't even be able to tell what kinds of human embryo research, human cloning, human genetic engineering, or "infertility treatments" they are doing any more.
Please pass on to interested others.
The term "abortion" no longer involves only sexually reproduced human embryos, and the term "cloning" no longer involves only the SCNT cloning technique.
In fact, neither have been true for some time now. -- DNI
-- “Embryo-splitting” endorsed for “infertility treatments:
The American Medical Association has recently renewed its position on the use of "embryo splitting" (i.e., a form of cloning) as infertility treatments. FYI, I have copied the URL for this latest report, as well as the URL provided there for the original 1994 report which has been serially updated. -- DNI
Code of Medical Ethics (Sept 21, 2009)
Opinion 2.145 - Pre-embryo Splitting (a summary) [[note the use of the erroneous scientific term “pre-embryo”]]
This Report provides a hyperlink to the original 1994 report that
explains “blastomere separation” and “blastocyst splitting” in IVF
facilities for “infertility treatments”:
CEJA Report 1-I-94
Recent medical developments have enabled scientific researchers to
split human pre-embryos into genetically identical sibling embryos.
... The first two techdniques involve the procedure of “splitting” or
“twinning” embryos. “Blastomere separation” involves the division of a
four-cell or eight-cell pre-embryo into the individual totipotent cells
(blastomeres), or groups of such cells, which comprise it. ... The
splitting of blastocysts ... is referred to as “embryo splitting”. In
this technique, a blastocyst is bisected into two multicellular groups
of non-totipotent cells, each of which is nurtured to encourage further
development. ... The technique of splitting in vitro fertilized
pre-embryos may result in multiple genetically identical siblings. The
procedure of pre-embryo splitting should be available so long as both
gamete providers agree. This procedure may significantly increase the
chances of conception for an infertile couple or for a couple whose
future reproductive capacity will likely be diminished.
Human embryo twinning with applications in reproductive medicine
Illmensee K, Levanduski M, Vidali A, Husami N, Goudas VT
OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of human embryo twinning by
blastomere biopsy at different early embryonic stages (splitting
efficiency) and to determine the in vitro developmental capacity of
twinned human embryos (developmental efficiency). DESIGN: Randomized
comparative study. SETTING: Private IVF centers. PATIENT(S): Couples
undergoing IVF donating triploid embryos. INTERVENTION(S): Embryos at
the 2- to 5- and 6- to 8-cell stage were split into twin embryos. Half
the number of blastomeres from donor embryos were removed and inserted
into recipient empty zonae pellucidae. After embryo splitting, donor
and recipient embryos were cultured in vitro. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):
Development of twinned embryos to the blastocyst stage. RESULT(S): The
number of developing embryos obtained after splitting could be
increased in comparison with the number of embryos available before
splitting at the 6- to 8-cell stage but not at the 2- to 5-cell stage
(splitting efficiency). Splitting of 6- to 8-cell embryos yielded
superior rates of twin embryos developing to blastocysts (developmental
efficiency). Twinning success was related to the superior morphological
quality of embryos used for splitting. CONCLUSION(S): This is the first
report on twinned human embryos developing to blastocysts. This study
exhibits the potential for novel applications in human assisted
reproduction.
-- Proving some cells of the early human embryo are totipotent, form new embryos
Van de Velde H, Cauffman G, Tournaye H, Devroey P, Liebaers I
The four blastomeres of a 4-cell stage human embryo are able to develop
individually into blastocysts with inner cell mass and trophectoderm
Research Centre Reproduction and Genetics, Universitair Ziekenhuis
Brussel (UZ Brussel), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
BACKGROUND: Early mammalian blastomeres are thought to be flexible and
totipotent allowing the embryo to overcome perturbations in its
organization during preimplantation development. In the past,
experiments using single blastomeres from 2-, 4- and 8-cell stage
mammalian embryos have provided evidence that at least some of the
isolated cells can develop into healthy fertile animals and therefore
are totipotent. We investigated whether isolated blastomeres of human
4-cell stage embryos could develop in vitro into blastocysts with
trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM). METHODS: Six 4-cell stage
human embryos were split and the four blastomeres were cultured
individually. The expression of NANOG, a marker for ICM cells, was
analysed by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: The majority of the
blastomere-derived embryos followed the normal pattern of development
with compaction on Day 4 and cavitation on Day 5 and developed into
small blastocysts with TE and ICM on Day 6 (n = 12). The four cells of
one embryo were individually capable of developing into blastocysts
with TE and ICM, and NANOG was expressed in the ICM. CONCLUSIONS:
Although based on a small number of embryos, we conclude that the
blastomeres of a 4-cell stage human embryo are flexible and able to
develop into blastocysts with ICM and TE.
PMID: 18503052
Hum Reprod. 2008 Aug;23(8):1742-7. Epub 2008 May 24
Human embryonic stem cell lines derived from single blastomeres of two 4-cell stage embryos.
Geens M, Mateizel I, Sermon K, De Rycke M, Spits C, Cauffman G, Devroey P, Tournaye H, Liebaers I, Van de Velde H.
Department of Embryology and Genetics (EMGE), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium.
BACKGROUND Recently, we demonstrated that single blastomeres of a
4-cell stage human embryo are able to develop into blastocysts with
inner cell mass and trophectoderm. To further investigate potency at
the 4-cell stage, we aimed to derive pluripotent human embryonic stem
cells (hESC) from single blastomeres. METHODS Four 4-cell stage embryos
were split on Day 2 of preimplantation development and the 16
blastomeres were individually cultured in sequential medium. On Day 3
or 4, the blastomere-derived embryos were plated on inactivated mouse
embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). RESULTS Ten out of sixteen
blastomere-derived morulae attached to the MEFs, and two produced an
outgrowth. They were mechanically passaged onto fresh MEFs as described
for blastocyst ICM-derived hESC, and shown to express the typical
stemness markers by immunocytochemistry and/or RT-PCR. In vivo
pluripotency was confirmed by the presence of all three germ layers in
the teratoma obtained after injection in immunodeficient mice. The
first hESC line displays a mosaic normal/abnormal 46, XX,
dup(7)(q33qter), del(18)(q23qter) karyotype. The second hESC line
displays a normal 46, XY karyotype. CONCLUSION We report the successful
derivation and characterization of two hESC lines from single
blastomeres of four split 4-cell stage human embryos. These two hESC
lines were derived from distinct embryos, proving that at least one of
the 4-cell stage blastomeres is pluripotent.
Hum Reprod. 2009 Jul 24. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 19633307 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
-- Human embryo in law should be defined as just a "group of cells"
de Miguel Beriain I
Cátedra Interuniversitaria Fundación BBVA, Diputación Foral de Bizkaia
de Derecho y Genoma Humano, Universidad de Deusto-Universidad del País
Vasco, Bilbao, España.
The human embryo after Dolly: new practices for new times
The possiblity of cloning human beings introduced a lot of issues in
our ethical and legal frameworks. In this paper, we will put the focus
into the necessary changes in the concept of embryo that our legal
systems will have to implement in order to face the new situation. The
description of the embryo as a group of cells able to develop into a
human being will be defended here as the best way of doing so.
Stem Cells & Cloning 
