CAMRA strongly supports a ban on human reproductive cloning but strongly supports therapeutic cloning. Therapeutic cloning is the term used to describe the transfer of the nucleus from an adult cell into an empty egg in order to generate self-compatible stem cells, also known as embryonic stem (ES) cells.

This kind of research is variously referred to as Therapeutic Cloning, Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT), or Cell Nuclear Replacement (CNR). CAMRA prefers the term "Patient-specific stem cell research" (PSS cells).

The promise of new cures for degenerative diseases that has stimulated intense research into stem cells. Diseases and injuries which will potentially benefit from "patient-specific stem cell research" include:

CAMRA believes that "patient-specific stem cell research" has enormous potential medical benefit in genetic disease, diseases of old age and serious injuries, but that extensive research is required to realise this promise.

CAMRA supports a ban human reproductive cloning but not therapeutic cloning. CAMRA supports "patient specific stem cell research", under strict licensing conditions, for research into the production of compatible cell tissue with which to fight disease.

CAMRA believes that at present, this process is a promising way for scientists to be able to generate perfectly matched transplant tissues. CAMRA believes that the much-needed breakthroughs in serious diseases and injuries which stand to benefit from stem cell research, are more likely to become a reality through the use of "patient-specific stem cell research" techniques.

Research is being done into other means of generating immuno-compatible tissues - eg by creating "universal donor " ES cells although such research is at a very early stage and PSS cells are at this stage the most promising.

Ultimately, CAMRA hopes that understanding how nuclear reprogramming occurs will eventually assist scientists to develop alternative techniques by which cells can be reprogrammed without the use of eggs, embryos or cloning methods.