Asian relief over UN compromise

Stem cell researchers in Asia have responded to a key United Nations move away from a total ban on human cloning with relief.The UN has been trying to hammer out a declaration on cloning for years. Although there is agreement on the need to ban reproductive cloning, deep divisions among member states over whether to ban therapeutic cloning have stymied efforts to reach consensus.Last week the UN General Assembly considered a change of tack, switching to the idea of a non-binding declaration asking member nations to ban reproductive cloning and adopt legislation to respect "human dignity." The latest proposal, submitted by Italy, will be discussed further in February next year.Paul Tam, a professor and researcher at Hong Kong's new Genome Research Center, said scientists in the territory would welcome UN guidelines, as long as they are balanced and not compulsory. He said Hong Kong is in the early stages of organizing a loose group of scientists and ethicists into a more formal committee that could propose legislation for regulating stem cell research.Tam told The Scientist there was a general appreciation that the UN had moved away from a total ban on human cloning. "Of course, a total ban [on human cloning] would be disastrous for research."Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, has a legal system similar to Britain's. There are still many ties between British and Hong Kong scientists—so Tam feels the territory would likely look closely at regulations introduced by British lawmakers. Mainland China, where several universities have developed their own embryonic stem cell lines, has already introduced regulations. "Cloning for reproductive purposed is illegal in China," said stem cell researcher Deng Hongkui, who splits his time between Peking University in China's capital Beijing and the University's newer campus in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen.China was one of 20 countries that had supported a proposal in the UN that would not ban therapeutic cloning. Deng, who has spent time in Canada and the United States, added that Chinese scientists have an advantage when it comes to untapped areas of research; "In China, it's easier to reach a consensus." Despite the apparent agreement among Chinese researchers on how their government should direct its policy, a poll in a national newspaper, the Guangming Yi Bao (August 18, 2004) revealed that not all scientists in China feel the same way.Ninety-four percent of doctors from eight hospitals in Shanghai and Xian felt that embryonic stem cells could eventually be used to cure diseases like Alzheimer's or diabetes. However, about 58% felt it was immoral to use human embryos in research.Xinshan Jia, of China Medical University in Shenyang, said scientists in China are generally not worried that the nation's ethicists could hamper research in the area of human embryonic stem cells. "We focus more on the research itself," he told The Scientist.In Japan, a prominent researcher said that UN guidelines to distinguish between human cloning for reproductive purposes versus therapeutic cloning might allay some misgiving on human cloning held by Japanese ethicists. But the researcher, Norio Nakatsuji of the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University, said the Japanese regulatory process for stem cell research is mired in bureaucracy. "The whole process is time consuming and too strict," Nakatsuji told The Scientist. The panel that advises government on the matter has had difficulty in finding a consensus in the past. "There have been hot and divided discussions in the highest government committee [about] whether we should start nuclear transfer study for therapeutic cloning." he told The Scientist.Because Japan has no laws on stem cell research, only guidelines, research groups have to apply for government permission to conduct studies, explained Nakatsuji. Nakatsuji's group was the only one to apply and win approval to develop its own human embryo stem cell lines over a year ago. He says his institute has successfully developed three stem cell lines.

Asian relief over UN compromise

Stem cell researchers in the Far East are content over a move away from cloning ban

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