asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 23 October (WA 100), why they will not protect women's health and welfare by similarly restricting the types of human eggs that may be used in embryo research in either any future human fertilisation and embryology Bill or the Government’s response to the report from the Joint Committee on the Human Tissue and Embryos (Draft) Bill. [HL72]
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) undertook a consultation in 2006 on the donation of eggs for HFEA licensed research projects. The HFEA concluded that the donation of eggs for research where the donor is not undergoing treatment herself, or where she is a patient who agrees to share some eggs for research, is acceptable provided that donation is with fully informed consent.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 29 October (WA 144-5), whether use of tissue other than umbilical cord blood following tissue typing of embryos will be restricted to just bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells of the resulting children, or whether this might include other organs; whether this distinction will be reflected in any future human tissue and embryos Bill; and how the extraction of bone marrow to treat conditions that are not life-threatening might be permitted if this is likely to require intrusive or repeated surgery. [HL187]
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill contains provision (Schedule 2 paragraph 3) that will allow the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to license embryo testing where the sick sibling could be treated with umbilical cord blood stem cells, bone marrow or other tissue of any resulting child.
The Bill introduces a new paragraph 1ZA(1)(d) into Schedule 2 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, which refers specifically to the tissue types:
“In a case where a person (‘the sibling’) who is the child of the persons whose gametes are used to bring about the creation of the embryo (or of either of those persons) suffers from a serious medical condition which could be treated by umbilical cord blood stem cells, bone marrow or other tissue of any resulting child, establishing whether the tissue of any resulting child would be compatible with that of the sibling”.
The HEFA issues guidance in its code of practice on tissue typing. Following licensing of the creation and transfer of a saviour sibling embryo, this issue falls outside the remit of the HFEA. However, the Human Tissue Act 2004 requires that the Human Tissue Authority must approve any transplants involving organs from living donors. In the case of adults who lack the capacity to consent and children who are not competent to consent, this extends to bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 28 June (WA 157–8), Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 12 July (WA 240–1) and Lord Darzi of Denham on 23 October (WA 101), whether the reference under the proposed Section 4A(5)(e) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (as proposed to be inserted under Clause 4(2) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill) to “such other thing as may be specified in regulations” will cover any predominantly or substantially human organism that conceivably may be created by injecting human embryonic stem cells into an embryo of another species in which the animal cells primarily produce extra-embryonic tissues. [HL243]
The reference to “such other thing as may be specified in regulations” as proposed to be inserted under Clause 4(2) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, has the scope to cover any predominantly or substantially human organism that conceivably may be created by injecting human embryonic stem cells into an embryo of another species in which the animal cells primarily produce extra-embryonic tissues. Such delegated legislation would be subject to affirmative resolution, requiring approval by resolution of both Houses.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answers by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 8 May (WA 248), how much government funding has been allocated towards research into direct reprogramming of differentiated cells to a pluripotent state without the creation of embryos, in the light of findings reported in the journal Cell on 25 August 2006 (126:663-676), in the journal Nature on 19 July (448:313-324) and in the journal Cell Stem Cell on 7 June (1:55-70). [HL285]
The Government support research into all approaches to harness the potential of stem cells to treat human disease. While the Medical Research Council has not yet received any applications to pursue the induced pluripotent stem cell approach, it has supported three projects over the past three years directly related to efforts to reprogramme differentiated adult stem cells. The total value of these awards is £4.2 million.
In 2005, the Department for Trade and Industry, as was, funded two projects involved in methods for the differentiation of stem cells. The funding for the projects was a total value of £1.58 million and was part of an open competition for the award of £10 million in research funding. No projects from this competition looked at the direct reprogramming process.