Abstract

The use of human embryonic stem cell to replace damaged cells and tissues promises future hope for the treatment of many diseases. However,many countries now face complex ethical and legal questions as a result of the research needed to develop these cell-replacement therapies. This study design to explore attitudes of Shia religious lawyers, jurisprudists,and scientists to different techniques of derivation of stem cell. Twenty six participants were asked about their attitudes and concerns to embryos surplus IVF, embryo creation through therapeutic cloning and the embryos destruction. Ultimately, attitudinal responses were collected and considered. The majority of respondents indicated that: the preimplantation embryos have not human rights exactly; the importance of not wasting surplus IVF embryos and permission to destruction of these embryos for stem cell research and tissue transplantation; and permission to creation embryos through therapeutic cloning for stem cell research and tissue transplantation. Restrictions on research on stem cell are questionable as they inhibit the development of a technique which holds promise for successful application of pluripotent stem cells in clinical treatment of severe diseases