Korean Journal of Medical Ethics

The Korean Society for Medical Ethics

Korean J Med Ethics 2011; 14(4):443-455

pISSN: 2005-8284, eISSN: 2234-3598

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2011.14.4.443

Article

줄기세포 연구 방법들에 대한 이해와 그 윤리적 쟁점들*

이상목¹^,^*

Controversial Ethical Issues and the Current Progress of Stem Cell Research*

Sang Mok LEE¹^,^*

¹동아대학교 인문과학대학 윤리문화학과

¹Department of Ethics, Dong-A University

^*교신저자: 이상목. 동아대학교 인문과학대학 윤리문화학과. 051-200-7145. leesm@dau.ac.kr

ⓒ Copyright 2011 The Korean Society for Medical Ethics. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Oct 19, 2011; Accepted: Dec 09, 2011

Published Online: Dec 31, 2011

ABSTRACT

While stem cell research offers great hope for the development of the life sciences and the discovery of medical treatments for a variety of diseases, it also raises many controversial ethical issues. The ethical issues raised by stem cell research can be divided into two broad categories. The first category consists of the controversies relating to the destruction of human embryos during the process of stem cell extraction. The second category involves the ethical questions surrounding the use of adult stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells. This article provides an overview of the current state of stem cell research and an analysis of some of the associated ethical issues. Furthermore, on the basis of the analysis provided in this article, suggestions are offered concerning the best direction for future stem cell research.

Keywords: 배아줄기세포연구; 줄기세포치료; 의학적 혁신; 설명동의; 이익갈등

Keywords: embryonic stem cell research; alternative sources of pluripotency; medical innovation; informed consent; conflict of interest