The Department of Health (DOH, 衛生署) yesterday outlined policy decisions on stem-cell research after months of consultation with community and research groups over the controversial issue.
Guidelines -- under which the government will allow the research -- were drawn in regard to the donation, commercialization and usage of embryonic stem cells.
"Because our country is in the initial stages of stem-cell research, we felt it was important to begin by clearly defining positions on what the possibilities and implications are of this new science," Department of Health deputy director-general Huang Fu-Yuan (
While Huang said research would be permitted, the government plans to take specific measures to keep the practice carefully regulated. Among them are:
First, embryos used may be derived only from natural miscarriages, legally aborted embryos or superfluous embryos from in-vitro fertilizations -- artificial insemination of embryos for the purpose of research alone will be illegal.
Second, research that will be permitted will be for medical purposes only, and not for the purpose of cloning.
Third, one of the primary sources of stem cells are human embryos provided by women who have agreed to donate eggs fertilized in vitro.
While the government will allow the donation of stem cells, the sale and purchase of embryos will be banned in an effort to prevent the commercialization of their use.
"The purposes of stem-cell research must only be to seek cures for diseases and to grow organ tissue," Huang said.
Fourth, before any stem-cell research is permitted by the government, scientists will have to undergo a specific proposal process for their projects to be approved by the DOH. The department has not ruled out government research funding, but no government funds have yet been appropriated specifically for stem-cell research.
Stem cells extracted from human embryos are promising because they are primordial cells yet to be assigned a specific function, making them useful in the treatment of a wide variety of maladies. But techniques used to harvest stem-cells mirror those needed to initiate cloning, which is part of the reason why stem-cell research is so controversial.
Experimenting on the cells has drawn opposition from those who compare the treatment of humans and human embryos -- even those nine months from birth -- to that of lab animals.
"There are still questions we need to address, but the decision to allow stem-cell research in this country was based on how tremendous the potential benefits of this biotechnology are.
"Just imagine people not having to wait for organ transplants anymore because we may be able to grow them on our own," Huang said.
The decisions announced yesterday came after lawmakers and other officials examined the issue for more than a year.
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