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April 30, 2009
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| Korea’s bioethics authority yesterday conditionally lifted a three-year ban on research using cloned human stem cells. The decision will allow scientists to resume studies that could lead to new ways of treating a variety of physical disabilities and diseases. The lifting comes three years after the Health Ministry banned this kind of stem cell research following revelations that research by the celebrated scientist Hwang Woo-suk was fraudulent. Cha Medical Center, based in Seoul, applied for approval last October for research on cloning human embryos and extracting stem cells, claiming that its work could be crucial in developing effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease, stroke, spinal injuries, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, among others. However, the presidential committee on bioethics said research centers have to meet four conditions before their projects get a green light. The committee stipulates leaving out “treating diseases” from research proposals to avoid raising people’s expectations too high. The committee also demanded that the medical center obtain written agreements from egg donors and minimize the use of human eggs. The conditions were imposed after the bioethics committee took into account the anticipated controversy surrounding the destruction of large numbers of human eggs during the research process plus the debate on the highly contentious issue of human cloning. “We haven’t decided whether or not to hold another meeting to discuss the research approval,” said Roh Jae-kyung, the head of the committee and a medical professor at Yonsei University, in a press briefing. “As soon as the Health Ministry confirms fulfillment of the conditions without the committee’s additional review, the research center may carry out further related studies.” Two months earlier, the bioethics committee withheld a decision after a four-hour meeting, asking that the research center, which was established by Cha Hospital, one of the largest obstetrics hospitals in Korea, submit a more detailed plan for research. Kim Gang-lip, head of the policy bureau for the health industry at the ministry, said, “Allowing diverse stem cell research corresponds with a global trend.” The science community asserts that the Obama administration has provided trillions of won (billions of dollars) to around 1,000 stem cell research centers. The British government has set aside 800 million pounds ($1.17 billion) a year for related studies in recent years. Hwang of Seoul National University won international acclaim in 2004 after he claimed to be the first scientist to clone a human embryo, but in December 2005 he confessed that he had lied about the source of the human eggs used in his experiments. He applied for approval to restart his research last August but the bioethics committee rejected it, citing the scientist’s ethical lapses in the past. Today’s stem cell research is conducted on adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells and human embryonic stem cells using somatic nuclear transfer. The embryonic research described by the Cha Medical Center is centered on the fourth, which had been Hwang’s specialty. The research revolves around the process of cloning though transferring the nucleus of a somatic cell of a patient to an egg deprived of a nucleus. The created embryo is used to harvest stem cells and grown into the type of tissue needed for treatment. Scientists claim that the method will open up new opportunities in developing patient-specific treatment and eliminate tissue rejection in transplants, and allow them to secure a larger amount of stem cells for research. By Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr] |
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