Embryology shake-up backed

Abstract

Britain's parliament has backed moves to create one of the most liberal human embryology experiment regimes, but not everyone is happy. Nigel Williams reports. Britain's parliament has backed moves to create one of the most liberal human embryology experiment regimes, but not everyone is happy. Nigel Williams reports. Britain's lower house of Parliament last month agreed to a shake-up of human embryology for the first time in 20 years, opening up new research opportunities. MPs voted for a series of measures that includes allowing scientists to produce human–animal hybrid embryos for stem cells and the use of ‘saviour siblings’ to provide bone marrow or umbilical cord tissue for treating genetic conditions. Although this was the third reading of the bill before parliament, which is often almost a formality, there was still considerable debate, partly because the bill includes abortion legislation. The prime minister, Gordon Brown, is strongly in favour of stem-cell research and supports the bill. But much of the controversy about the bill concerned the late scheduling of a number of measures concerning abortion which meant that there was not enough time to address them. And in Newcastle, one of Britain's leading centres for research on stem cells, Colin McGuckin, professor of regenerative medicine, announced last month that he was leaving his post to move to Lyon because of a lack of funding support for adult stem-cell research as opposed to embryonic stem cells. He said that the government was prioritising work on embryonic stem cells ahead of work with adult stem cells. McGuckin plans to leave for the University of Lyon in January with a research team of around ten, including his research partner Nico Forraz. He plans to open the world's biggest institute devoted to cord blood and adult stem cells. McGuckin has been a leader of researchers working in the UK on stem cells derived from babies' umbilical cord blood. The method is less controversial than embryo-derived stem cells as no embryo is destroyed in the process. He told the Times Higher Education that France had kept a “much more reasoned balance”. He said that France is very supportive of adult stem cells because “they know that these are the things that are in the clinic right now”. But the government did face some rebellion, including from its own party. Several MPs were still worried about the creation of hybrid embryos — those using an animal egg. One member was worried about the potential of such a development to create ‘humanzees’ and that a loophole would allow attempts to use human sperm to fertilise animal eggs. Another MP said the bill would exclude this, since it prohibited the mixing of human and animal gametes, except with a licence.The minister responsible for the bill's passage through parliament said that it was right that MPs concentrate on the rules governing stem-cell research The minister responsible for the bill's passage through parliament said that it was right that MPs concentrate on the rules governing stem-cell research But most concern came from the abortion issues — with claims that amendments to allow nurses to carry out abortions, legalisation of abortions in Northern Ireland, and an end to the ‘two doctor’ rule, which requires two doctors to sanction an abortion, had been deliberately scheduled late to prevent their discussion and ensure the embryology legislation could go ahead. But ministers defended their tactics; Dawn Primarolo, the minister responsible for the bill's passage through parliament, said that it was right that MPs concentrate on the rules governing stem-cell research. She said the bill had 81 hours of debate and there were no plans to allocate more time to it.