Now that scientists can successfully clone adult mammals, one can't help but speculate about the future practical applications of human cloning once the procedure is perfected and commonplace. So here we present our speculations of the future of human cloning:
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Perfectly matched donor organs.
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Rejection of donor organs will no longer be a problem. The body rejects a donor organ when antibodies attack the organ as a foreign body and seeks to eradicate the organ from the body. The closer a donor organ genetically matches a recipient, the less likely rejection will occur. Clone organs would be perfect genetic matches so the risk of rejection would be eliminated.
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An abundant donor organ supply.
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Donor organ supply will no longer be a problem. Instead of cloning a whole body, selective organ cloning will allow for a sufficient supply of replacement organs for everyone. And selective organ cloning will prevent the waste of whole body cloning just for organs.
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Certain reproduction.
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Human cloning will make reproduction a certainty. Married couples will be able to choose when to have a child and what gender the child will be by cloning one parent or the other, and then raising the clone as the child of both parents rather than a clone of only one of them. This would be especially welcome in societies that value male children over female children, since cloning can guarantee a male child to everyone.
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Eternal youth.
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Once human cloning is perfected, eternal youth may become a reality. Of course scientists will first have to discover how to transfer the human consciousness from one body to the other. But once this can be accomplished, everyone will be able to start over in a new body that will be younger and genetically superior thanks to cloning coupled with genetic engineering.
The future of human cloning holds a great deal of promise for everyone. From the abundance of donor organs to eternal youth, everyone will benefit from this new science. The first step has been taken, now all we have to do is march on into the future.
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