Pros Of Gene Therapy

“Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a patient’s cells instead of using drugs or surgery” (“What is Gene Therapy?”). In that respective, gene therapy is a new and rapidly growing medical treatment option for some illnesses. Of course with new treatments there are risks and because this is fairly new there are some major risks still associated with gene therapy. Therefore, most of the treatments are still in the clinical trial phases. The gene therapy treatment is a risky treatment because of how the gene therapy procedure is preceded, the risk of itself is being so new, next to the targeted cells they …show more content…
For example, here is Jesse Gelsinger 's story, "[H]e had a rare liver disorder, participated in a 1999 gene therapy trial. He died of complications from an inflammatory response shortly after receiving a dose of experimental adenovirus vector. His death halted all gene therapy trials in the United States for a time, sparking a much-needed discussion on how best to regulate experimental trials and report health problems in volunteer patients” (“Challenges”). However, if gene therapy is the only chance at surviving their illness then opt for gene therapy and see what happens. The doctors probably already gave the results and status of how far the disease has progressed. Therefore, if there is not another cure than gene therapy could change the long-term diagnosis the doctor had already projected for the patient. But if there are other options, then try those first and as a last resort try the gene therapy procedure. "Another risk is the long-term effects if the gene therapy was a success because of gene therapy being relatively new and not much long-term information on gene therapy" (Mandal). Another ethical concern is “disorders arising from one gene mutation are the most promising candidates for gene therapy but a lot of the most common disorders such as diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis are caused by a …show more content…
For example, if there are other treatment options then that patient should have to try those options rather than go straight to gene therapy. Or the complete opposite if the patient has no other treatment options then the patient would qualify for the treatment. The patient should get x amount of doctors to approve the gene therapy procedure to show that they do indeed need the gene therapy treatment. There are the policies I would have to advocate for, for the gene therapy procedure treatment.
With all of the information presented earlier in the essay, it makes a tough decision to choose gene therapy. However, it might be the only choice you are given and the risk is something to take a chance on. Make the choice with the evidence provided from how the gene therapy procedure is preceded, the risk itself of it being so new, the targeted cells they aim to discard and replace with new cells and finally the policies that should be in acted upon. Gene Therapy it can save lives but it can also take away lives, so is it worth