Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Drayson (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 March 2010.

Embryology

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 14 December 2009 (WA 178) and the letter by the chief executive of the Medical Research Council on 19 February 2010, whether the need for an additional year "to allow recruitment targets to be reached" reflects the willingness of women to provide eggs for human cloning research; and what measures have been proposed in that regard.

Answer: The Medical Research Council (MRC) granted a one-year extension to the University of Newcastle for the research project "Improving the Efficiency of Human Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer" so as to allow recruitment targets to be reached and the completion of the planned research. The MRC has also commissioned an independent study to investigate the views, values and experiences of potential donors in egg sharing for somatic cell nuclear transfer research; this study is due to end six months after the research project has been completed. It is expected that information relating to recruitment, including the experiences and views of potential donors will be reported in publications relating to the research project and the associated study. It would be inappropriate to speculate on issues that may, or may not, have had an impact on recruitment until all of the data collection and analysis has been completed, and research papers have been published.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 2539; 718 c75WA
Session: 2009-10
Related items: Embryology
Monday, 14 December 2009
Written questions
House of Lords; Embryology
Friday, 12 November 2010
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Clones Human embryo experiments Donors Research Medical Research Council Newcastle University
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk