Heritable human genome editing in South Africa – time for a reality check

Authors

  • M Ramsay Director, Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
  • M Pepper Director, SAMRC Extramural Unit on Stem Cell Research and Therapy, and Director, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • J de Vries Director, The Ethics Lab, University of Cape Town, South Africa
  • S Mahomed Department of Jurisprudence, School of Law, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa
  • E Flack-Davison Head, Research Legal, Compliance and Integrity, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2025.v115i1.2872

Keywords:

Heritable human genome editing, reproductive cloning, National Health Research Ethics Council Guidelines, National Health Act, South Africa

Abstract

-

References

1. National Health Research Ethics Council. South African Ethics in Health Research Guidelines – Principles, Processes and Structures. 3rd ed. Pretoria: National Department of Health, 2024. https:// www.health.gov.za/nhrec-guidelines/ (accessed 15 November 2024).

2. Baylis F, Hasson K. South Africa amended its research guidelines to allow for heritable human genome editing. The Conversation, 25 October 2024. https://theconversation.com/south-africa-amended-its- research-guidelines-to-allow-for-heritable-human-genome-editing-241136 (accessed 15 November 2024).

3. Wild S. Will South Africa become first country to accept controversial form of human genome editing? Nature, 7 November 2024. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03643-4 (accessed 15 November 2024).

4. Thaldar D, Botes M, Shozi B, Townsend B, Kinderlerer J. Human germline editing: Legal-ethical guidelines for South Africa. S Afr J Sci 2020;116(9/10). https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2020/6760

5. The Royal Society. Statement from the Organising Committee of the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. The Royal Society, 8 March 2023. https://royalsociety.org/news/2023/03/ statement-third-international-summit-human-genome-editing/ (accessed 15 November 2024).

6. Thaldar D. A golden opportunity for South Africa to legislate on human heritable genome editing. S Afr J Bioethics Law 2023;16(3):e1568. https://doi.org/10.7196/SAJBL.2023.v16i3.1568

7. Thaldar D, Shozi B, Steytler M, et al. A deliberative public engagement study on heritable human genome editing among South Africans: Study results. PLoS ONE 2022;17(11):e0275372. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275372

8. Nyamnjoh AN, Ewuoso C. What constitutes ethical engagement with Africa and the Global South? Am J Bioethics 2023;23(7):132-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2023.2207537

9. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. International commission on the clinical use of human germline genome editing. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, 2024. https:// www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/international-commission-on-the-clinical-use-of-human- germline-genome-editing (accessed 15 November 2024).

10. World Health Organization. Human genome editing. Geneva: WHO, 2024. https://www.who.int/ health-topics/human-genome-editing/#tab=tab_1 (accessed 15 November 2024).

Downloads

Published

2025-02-18

Issue

SAMJ Vol. 115 no. 1

Section

Editorials

License

Copyright (c) 2024 M Ramsay, M Pepper , J de Vries, S Mahomed, E Flack-Davison

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Licensing Information

The SAMJ is published under an Attribution-Non Commercial International Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License. Under this license, authors agree to make articles available to users, without permission or fees, for any lawful, non-commercial purpose. Users may read, copy, or re-use published content as long as the author and original place of publication are properly cited. 

Exceptions to this license model is allowed for UKRI and research funded by organisations requiring that research be published open-access without embargo, under a CC-BY licence. As per the journals archiving policy, authors are permitted to self-archive the author-accepted manuscript (AAM) in a repository. 

Publishing Rights

Authors grant the Publisher the exclusive right to publish, display, reproduce and/or distribute the Work in print and electronic format and in any medium known or hereafter developed, including for commercial use. The Author also agrees that the Publisher may retain in print or electronic format more than one copy of the Work for the purpose of preservation, security and back-up.

 

How to Cite

1.
Ramsay M, Pepper M, de Vries J, Mahomed S, Flack-Davison E. Heritable human genome editing in South Africa – time for a reality check. S Afr Med J [Internet]. 2025 Feb. 18 [cited 2025 Apr. 17];115(1):e2872. Available from: https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/samj/article/view/2872