'Bubble kid' success puts gene therapy back on track

Children with SCID must live in a
sterile environment

The latest improvement in gene therapy is able to treat severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), also known as "Bubble Boy Syndrome" (Geddes, 2013). This technology was able to save Nina, a baby who had a low chance of surviving because she was born without an immune system. With the help of gene therapy, Nina's immune system fully recovered and she was able to live like any other normal child (Geddes, 2013). Gene therapy is a method of adding or replacing mutated genes with new or a healthy copy of genes (Genetics Home Reference, 2013). This can be accomplished by taking out the patient's blood or bone marrow, adding a new copy of genes to it, and then injecting the blood/bone marrow back to the bloodstream. The cells will mature and rapidly grow to eventually replace malfunctioned genes that caused the disease (Nienhuis, 2008). Gene therapy can cure many diseases such as sickle-cell anemia and hemophilia (Nienhuis, 2008).

I'm very impressed with this improvement because it is very safe and the patient doesn't have to undergo surgery or take any drugs. It can also be use to cure many disorders for a variety of ages. However, I am a bit concerned since gene therapy may cause leukaemia and a patient can die due to a reaction of a virus use in gene therapy (Geddes, 2013). Gene therapy can also be used for other purposes not associated with disease which may cause unethical issues. Do you think gene therapy should only be use for medical purposes or should this technology be allowed to be used for improving human features like height or intelligence?

Article: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029413.200-bubble-kid-success-puts-gene-therapy-back-on-track.html

References

Geddes, L. (2013, October 30). 'Bubble kid' success puts gene therapy back on track. NewScientist. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029413.200-bubble-kid-success-puts-gene-   therapy-back-on-track.html?full=true#.UpfgIMSsiCd

Nienhuis, A. (2008, May 13). How does gene therapy work?. Scientific American. Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=experts-  gene-therapy

What is gene therapy?. (2013, November 25). Genetics Home Reference. Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/therapy/genetherapy