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Article: GENE THERAPY.
- Article from:
- The Exceptional Parent
- Article date:
- March 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 EP Global Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Balancing the Promise With the Reality
On September 17, 1999, four days after receiving a gene therapy infusion at the University of Pennsylvania, a young man from Arizona who had a genetic disease known as Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency (OTC) died. His death--the first that could be directly linked to gene therapy--electrified the scientific community and triggered a national debate that will have a powerful impact on the future of gene therapy experiments and how they are approved and monitored. These are profound and important questions left unanswered, but for Jesse Gelsinger, the 18-year-old who died, and perhaps for others, it is a debate that came ...