Initial heritable genome editing: mapping a responsible pathway from basic research to the clinic
Open accessAbstract
Following the Second Summit on Human Gene Editing in Hong Kong in 2018, where the birth of two girls with germline genome editing was revealed, the need for a responsible pathway to the clinical application of human germline genome editing has been repeatedly emphasised. This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing discussion on research ethics issues in germline genome editing by exploring key issues related to the initial applications of CRISPR in reproductive medicine. Following an overview of the current discussion on bringing germline genome editing into clinical practice, we outline the specific challenges associated with such interventions and the features that distinguish them from conventional clinical testing of new medical treatments. We then review proposed ethical requirements for initial heritable genome editing, such as the absence of reasonable alternatives, the existence of sufficient and reliable preclinical data, appropriate informed consent, requirements related to safety, and long-term follow-up.
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Cited by
Still being checked.
- Authors
- Ranisch, R., Trettenbach, K., & Arnason, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Potsdam (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Ranisch, Robert
- Venue
- Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy
- Published
- 2022-11-22
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 21-35
- ISSN
- 1386-7423 (ISSN-L)
- 1572-8633
- PMC
- PMC9984515
- OpenAlex
- W4309698249
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 90
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4
- FWCI
- 4.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Medicine Health Care and Philosophy (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Opin vísindi (Opin vísindi) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Opin vísindi (Opin vísindi) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- The Dr. Kurt und Irmgard Meister-Stiftung (The Dr. Kurt und Irmgard Meister-Stiftung)
- Universität Potsdam
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Biomedical Ethics and Regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
- Keywords
- germline editing, CRISPR, research ethics, clinical translation, reproductive medicine, informed consent, preclinical evidence, safety requirements, long-term follow-up, responsible innovation
- MeSH terms
- Gene Editing, Female, Germ Cells, Humans, Research, Genome, Human, Ethics, Research, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
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