Fertility watchdog stays cloning ruling

BRITAIN’S fertility watchdog yesterday postponed a decision on whether to allow women to donate eggs for cloning research until it had gathered opinion from experts and members of the public.

Suzi Leather, chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said: “We are now going to prepare a proper consultation programme in this area so we can ensure that any policy we develop takes account of the full range of evidence and views.”

A number of scientists working in the fields of stem cell research and therapeutic cloning are waiting for the chance to obtain fresh eggs from volunteer women. At present, eggs used in this kind of research have to be “left-overs” from In-Vitro Fertilisation treatment.

There is evidence that using fresh eggs straight from a woman’s ovaries would result in much greater success, but it also raises a wide range of ethical and safety issues. One of the biggest concerns is the risk of Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome, a dangerous condition that can occur when women are stimulated to produce eggs.

Eggs can be used to create cloned embryos by replacing their DNA with genetic material from a donor cell. From these embryos, grown in the laboratory, scientists can extract embryonic stem cells, unprogrammed cells with the potential to become any kind of tissue in the body.

The decision to consult on obtaining eggs for cloning research from volunteers was announced at a HFEA meeting in Belfast.

Ms Leather said: “This is a complex issue, given researchers have stated the need for high-quality eggs in order to conduct effective research and the ethical consideration of allowing women to undergo the risks of the hormonal stimulation and medical procedure needed to obtain the eggs. “Much additional information has come to light in the few months since the authority first considered this issue. Reports were tabled today on a recent meeting on the consequences of Professor Hwang’s actions in South Korea, and on the condition, OHSS (Ovarian Hyper-Stimulation Syndrome), a serious condition which can occur when women are stimulated to produce eggs.”

She said the authority was worried about the lack of proper information on why women donate eggs and the consequences of egg sharing.

The group Human Genetics Alert, which opposes therapeutic cloning, described the decision as a “victory for common sense”.

Director Dr David King said: “The Korean cloning research scandal, in which 15 women were made severely ill by egg donation, shows the hazards of an international race to create cloned embryos and stem cells. It is vital that the HFEA does not allow Britain to become a haven for unethical research procedures.”

However, some experts believe it is vital that permission is given to use fresh donated eggs.

Dr Alan Thornhill, scientific director at the London Fertility Centre, said: “It would be good news if this consultation resulted in permission for scientists to use fresh eggs from egg sharers and altruistic donors rather than aged leftover eggs. This would enable scientists to carry out high quality experiments that could yield more meaningful results.”

Professor Anne McLaren, from the Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, said: “Women who are donating eggs altruistically or as part of an egg-sharing scheme should surely be allowed to choose whether their own eggs should go to another woman for fertility treatment, or to a stem cell research worker seeking possible therapy for a serious degenerative disease such as Parkinson’s or diabetes. Let us hope that the public goes for women’s choice in the forthcoming consultation.”