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South Korea To Begin Stem Cell Research Again

Posted on: Wednesday, 29 April 2009, 11:10 CDT

South Korean officials said Wednesday the country has moved to allow human stem cell research for the first time after outlawing the practice three years ago when a leading scientist was found to have faked his work, the AFP reported.

A new research project has been allowed by the national committee on bioethics, given the scientists meet certain conditions.

Researchers from Cha General Hospital in Seoul had sought approval for its stem cell project using aborted human eggs to develop cures for deadly human diseases.

However, the team was given four conditions to abide by.

Fresh written consent from egg donors must be secured by the hospital and they are required to focus on lab animals to minimize the use of such eggs. They will also have to set up an internal screening body to check for possible abuse.

The committee also said the researchers must remove references from the project title — the title mentions "stem cell research which can cure diseases such as Parkinson's" — that could give people false hope.

"We have never technically banned stem cell research but we have always called for strict guidelines," said a health official that asked not to be named.

Bioethics committee chief Roh Jae-Kyung told reporters the new research that was conditionally approved was really just the very first step towards a new academic study.

He added that while they hope the research will eventually become a ray of hope for those patients with an incurable disease, they’re asking patients to refrain from premature or excessive expectations.

After pioneering stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-Suk's claims that he created the first human stem cells through cloning were ruled to be bogus, the committee banned research using human eggs in 2006.

After US President Barack Obama lifted a ban on federal funding for such research earlier in the year, South Korean scientists began pressuring the government to relax its ban.

Chung Hyung-Min, the hospital's leading researcher, welcomed the committee's decision and said he would try to meet its conditions.

He believes the decision will help reactivate stem cell research in South Korea.

"Stem cell research has been done by scientists in Britain and other countries. But there has been no successful case yet, using human eggs," he said.

The hospital is set to build the world's largest stem cell research and treatment center in southern Seoul by 2013, Lee said.

The bioethics committee had previously rejected a similar request from Hwang.

Hwang is now engaged in animal cloning but wants to begin a new embryonic stem cell research project using eggs from aborted fetuses.

Hwang, once hailed as a national hero, has insisted in court that he could prove he created the first cloned human stem cells. He is currently still on trial for fraud, embezzlement, ethical breaches and other charges.

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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