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Stem Cell Research - An Opportunity
The Prophet Muhammad gave Muslims reason to be encouraged about medical reserch when he said "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He has created its cure".
The potential is clearly huge in therapeutic cloning. At a genetic level, a multitude of cell lines can be generated to examine genetic and chromosomal abnormalities. Cell lines from patients could revolutionise gene therapy by allowing in-vitro study of gene mutations at early developmental stages and exploration of what goes wrong in the differentiation process. These lines prove invaluable in the study of conditions with a genetic aetiology such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's dementia and schizophrenia.
Research at a basic level has already produced promising results. There are a number of papers in the July 2004 edition of The Lancet which illustrate this. Wollert et al (2004) injected bone marrow stem cells into the affected artery of patients who had just suffered a heart attack. The team from Hannover managed to demonstrate a moderate increase in heart function compared to control. Joannides et al (Lancet, July 2004) were able to generate primitive nerve cells from adult human skin providing a basis for further experiments and uncovering a potential treatment in neurological disorders.
Humanity should have available the expertise and technology to utilise stem cells. These primitive cells which can be encouraged to grow and develop into more specific tissues such as skin, neurons and pancreatic tissue could be used to treat burns, Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis or even head injury. The future could hold the potential to regenerate ischaemic neural and cardiac tissue simply by infusing stem cells into a vascular territory. Could the day arrive when there would be no need for classes of drugs such as ACE inhibitors or beta-blockers which work to improve heart function, while simultaneously making huge profits for the pharmaceutical industry?
The Prophet Muhammad said that whoever saved a life it is as if he saved all of humanity. Islam views medical research as a must and states as an underlying premise that there is a cure for every illness. Spurred by this philosophy, the Islamic world made significant contributions under the Caliphate to the fields of medicine, surgery, chemistry, toxicology and many other scientific disciplines that relate to human health care. Many of these historic endeavours have subsequently influenced much of the modern practice of these disciplines. During the Abbasid era, whilst Europe witnessed a 'dark age', Baghdad flourished as a centre of medical discovery and innovation, training physicians from across the Islamic world and beyond, including Europe. The translation of Arabic medical works to Latin provided a gateway through which Europe accessed some of the Islamic world's discoveries. The seizure of Spanish territories by the forces of Ferdinand and Isabelle brought knowledge of the medical endeavours of Spaniards such as Abu al-Qasim ('Abulcasis') (936-1013), ibn Zuhr of Seville (1094-1162), ibn al-Khattib (1313-1374) and ibn Khatima of Granada (d 1369) and many others, to Europe. In the words of Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard, "…this civilisation was driven more than anything, by invention. Its architects designed buildings that defied gravity. Its mathematicians created algebra and algorithms that would enable us to build computers, and the creation of encryption. Its doctors examined the human body, and found new cures for disease."
Islam seeks to push the frontiers of scientific possibility and to develop technologies and methodologies that allow for the greatest advances in the shortest possible time. It instructs that a cure be sought for every illness within a clear and well defined legal framework. This is for the purpose of curing the sick and is not driven by the need to make vast profit from their suffering. So Islam would value combating malaria and cholera worldwide just as much as the treatment of ischaemic heart disease in the West. It would also aim to make therapeutic cloning available to all those in need of it, regardless of their socioeconomic status.
As politicians continue to struggle to define a legislative framework to govern therapeutic cloning, Mrs Clarke will watch the rapid deterioration of her husband. He is in great physical health but does not resemble the man she married 50 years ago. The money they had saved for the holidays they had put off for so long and for a comfortable retirement will now go towards nursing care for her husband.
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