Groups unite to oppose UK hybrid ban

British politicians and more than two hundred medical research charities and patient groups have today (April 5) united to support British scientists in opposition to a government plan that could forbid the use of enucleated animal eggs to produce human stem cells for research.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee published a report criticizing the proposed ban, which could be included in upcoming draft legislation in May.

"Our report is really quite explicit that the research into cytoplasmic hybrid embryos should go ahead now ... and that the proposed legislation that comes into the House in May should be permissive," the Committee chair Phil Willis told The Scientist.

A coalition of 223 research charities and patient groups, some of which fund research, also added their voices to the debate, sending a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair saying that the research was needed to overcome a shortage of human eggs for medical research. The letter described the research as "a vital avenue of inquiry which could greatly increase our understanding of serious medical conditions and ultimately lead to new treatments."

Sophie Petit-Zeman, director of public dialogue at the Association of Medical Research Charities, said that a letter to the government signed by that number of research charities and patient groups was unprecedented.

She said patient groups wanted to support the view of researchers who were "disquieted by the potential banning of something they see as having a potentially important impact."

Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, said in a statement that he hoped the government would provide a clear and unequivocal response to the select committee report. "There is no point in trumpeting UK successes in the field of stem cell research and then introducing legislation that impedes its progress," he said.

The government's view on the issue first came to light in December when public health minister Caroline Flint released a "White Paper" policy document which recommended that the human-animal hybrids and chimeras be banned when the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act (HFEA) is updated in 2008. That document prompted a letter to the Times newspaper in January, signed by 45 scientists, academics and politicians.

Stephen Minger, whose team at King's College London is seeking a licence to undertake the kind of research that would be banned under the proposals, said the level of support for the research was "gratifying and reassuring."

"I've spent the past three months at Whitehall talking to everyone about this, and the sense I get is that the government completely over-reacted in the White Paper and most of them have now backed away from the position," he told The Scientist.

Minger noted that the UK government has until now been very supportive of stem cell research. "Why they've had this little blip now is mysterious," he said. "I hope the report from the science and technology committee will carry some weight when it comes to the draft bill."

The committee's report says that research using animal eggs and human nuclei for stem cell research can be regulated under existing rules. "That's essentially what we had asked them for in our representations to the committee," said Lyle Armstrong from the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, whose group is also seeking a licence to do this kind of work.

"Really what we would be producing is ... no different from what is already being regulated very successfully by the HFEA now," he told The Scientist.

Meanwhile, the HFEA is about to embark on a public consultation on this issue. A spokesman for the HFEA told The Scientist that it would be making policy decisions after that process was finished, in September. "We're not going to be considering the applications until that time," he said.

The Department of Health did not respond to questions about the issue by deadline.

Stephen Pincock
mail@the-scientist.com

Note: To participate in our online discussion about the future of stem cell research, click here.

Links within this article

S. Pincock, "UK delays hybrid embryo decision," The Scientist, January 11, 2007.
http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/40757

Select Committee on Science and Technology : Reports and Publications
http://www.parliament.uk

Association of Medical Research Charities
http://www.amrc.org.uk

Review of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act: Proposals for revised legislation (including establishment of the Regulatory Authority for Tissue and Embryos)
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics

S. Pincock, "UK consults on embryo law," The Scientist, August 18, 2005.
http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22753/

J. Savalescu, et al, "Stemming studies," Times Online, January 9, 2007.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,59-2538977,00.html

Stephen Minger
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/biohealth/research/wolfson/sminger.html

Lyle Armstrong
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sars/staff/profile/lyle.armstrong

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