FOREWORD

New Technological innovations, during the last few decades, have caused a great impact on the society and improved the quality of life. As the unpremediated use of these new scientific developments may raise ethical problems and can cause serious threat to the society, the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) attaches greater attention to study and analyse these developments in the light of ethical dimensions from an Islamic prespective to disseminate this information to increase awareness in the society in general and among researchers in particular.

Research on Human Embryo has advanced at a tremendous pace during the last twenty five years. Its wide application in several parts of the world is a cause of great concern in the Islamic society due to the absence of adequate ethical guidelines.

At the invitation of ISESCO,  Dr. Gamal Abou Al-Serour, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Director of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research at Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, prepared the present study on "Ethical Implications of Human Embryo Research". We are grateful to him for undertaking this important task for ISESCO.

This  study  provides, on the one hand, descriptions  of  modern  advances  in  Human Embryo Research  such as  Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis,  Fetal Sex Selection, Gene Therapy, Cloning, Embryo Splitting, Nuclear Transplantation from Somatic Cells, Non-Reproductive Cloning, and on the other, analyses the Ethical implications from Islamic prespectives.

It is hoped that this publication will provide useful information on Human Embryo Research, promote the general awareness in the society and evolve a clear understanding among researchers so that they can proceed with their research endeavours with full confidence and feeling of satisfaction.

Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri
Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO)