And he wants to be cloned. Hansford-Miller, a British immigrant, has approached the Australian government to find out more about human cloning and says he believes he has the right to benefit from the technology available today. He laughed at suggestions he was far too old to start a family, saying he still went jogging daily, and planned to live at least another 36 years. Hansford-Miller, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer four years ago, said he had received support from other infertile men. He feels that Australia is at a disadvantage in not keeping up with countries like Italy and the United States, which are more determined to go ahead with human cloning.
Human cloning is illegal in Australia.
The moral debate surrounding human cloning does not phase him. And besides, he figures he will be doing the world a favor. Scientists say a viable human embryo could be derived from the stem cells or other cells of a man implanted in a woman's uterus. Doctors in Chicago have announced the birth of the first baby who, as an embryo before being implanted in the womb, underwent genetic testing to screen for cancer that ran in the family. It was his love of robotics that led Shishir Shah, president of Spectral Genomics, to come to the United States shortly after finishing high school in Vadodara, Gujarat.