Doctor ‘cloned human embryos in Mideast’
A doctor of Cypriot descent claims to have cloned 14 human embryos and transferred 11 of them into the wombs of four women, Britain’s Independent daily reported yesterday after interviewing the controversial fertility expert. Panayiotis Zavos, a US national of Cypriot origin, reportedly carried out his work at a laboratory in the Middle East, where there is no cloning ban, after receiving the go-ahead from the women. The process of cloning was recorded by an independent documentary filmmaker, according to the newspaper. The doctor reportedly admitted that none of the embryo transfers led to viable pregnancies but described his efforts as «the first chapter» in a mission to produce cloned human babies. «There is absolutely no doubt about it, and I might not be the one that does it, but the cloned child is coming,» Zavos was quoted as saying.
