Voices of faith communities, especially Muslims, are relatively silent in the global discourse on stem cell ethics, experts in the field of stem cell research say as they call for the inclusion of Muslim perspectives on the issue so that the guidelines and regulations can speak to all the contexts participating in or benefiting from the research.

With the developments in the stem cell technology, a fully functional heart or a liver prepared in the laboratory to replace diseased organs may not remain a distant possibility. Scientists in different parts of the world are pursuing this ambitious goal using stem cells – the raw material from which other cells grow.

A recent article published in the Stem Cell Reports highlights that the voices of faith communities, especially Muslims, are relatively silent in the global discourse on stem cell ethics.

The authors of the paper, who are members of an International Ethics Thinking Group, foresee that this inclusion can strengthen the understanding of ethical issues, improve global guidelines and regulations, enhance public engagement in ethics debates and policy development, and enable broader participation in the knowledge society…Representation of faith communities in devising policies is crucial, especially when contested sources such as human embryos are used in stem cell research, argue the authors.

Considering this inherent bias and growing participation of Muslim countries in the stem cell science, the authors call for consciously expanding the participation of thought leaders from the Muslim world in global discussions.

Source: The News International