The Pros And Cons Of Gene Therapy

Gene therapy’s promise to cure the incurable creates mass-support because of the medical appeal however this appeal neglects the ability of the scientific community to follow through. Gene therapy’s public release opposes the global movement for health equality and safety because of the physical inaccessibility, financial barriers, and unpredictable risks. Because gene therapy is only offered in few specific locations, it is inaccessible for a large majority of the world; equality based on physical boundaries has not yet been established for this new treatment. Katelin Peterson et al. in Personalized Medicine, Availability, and Group Disparity describe how gene therapy is more available to certain ethnicities, primarily Caucasian (211).

Daniel Takefamn and Wilson Bryan in The State of Gene Therapies: The FDA Perspective suggest that the lack of evidence in regards to safety at this stage in research does not justify the use of gene therapy on human patients. Although there can be great improvement to a patient’s quality of life with the success of the treatment, the “mixture of promise and disappointment” (Takefman 877) provides reason to halt the use of gene therapy. The death of Jesse Gelsinger after an unexpected immune response to a gene therapy is an example of the risk of using a new medical technology (Takefman 877). The unintended and unreseached side effects that can occur after a treatment increases the risk. The lack of trials and research leaves potential for unknown outcomes. The ability for gene therapy to potentially cure disorders that were once considered incurable creates “publicity-generated enthusiasm” (Takefman 877). The public’s hopefulness for improving medical treatment options is fully based on the appeal of curing the incurable. The actual scientific evidence does not back up this claim (Takefman 877). Public appeal is diminishing the true uncertainty of treatment outcomes however gene therapy imperils patients. The gain from the success of gene therapy cannot compare to the travesty from the