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AQA GCSE · Question 02.8 · Cell Biology
Give one reason why a patient may not want to be treated with heart cells created from an embryo.
Give one reason why a patient may not want to be treated with heart cells created from an embryo.
How to approach this question
Consider the source of the stem cells mentioned: an embryo. What are the social or ethical issues surrounding the use of human embryos for medical purposes?
Full Answer
Ethical or religious objections to using embryos.
The use of embryonic stem cells is a controversial topic with several arguments against it.
- **Ethical/Religious Objections:** Many people have ethical or religious beliefs that an embryo is a potential human life from the moment of conception. They believe that destroying an embryo to harvest its stem cells is morally wrong.
- **Medical Risks:** There are also potential medical risks, such as the patient's immune system rejecting the new cells as foreign tissue, or the risk that the rapidly dividing stem cells could become cancerous.
Common mistakes
✗ Giving a purely medical reason like "it might not work" without being specific (e.g., rejection, cancer risk).\n✗ Confusing embryonic stem cells with adult stem cells.
Practice the full AQA GCSE Biology Foundation Tier Paper 1
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