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Published Online May 19, 2005
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1114454

Policy Forum

Submitted on May 4, 2005
Accepted on May 16, 2005

Issues in Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research

David Magnus 1 and Mildred K. Cho 1*

1 Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Mildred K. Cho , E-mail: micho{at}stanford.edu

As described by Hwang et al. in this issue (1), somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) to create human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines represents a step towards realizing the promise of stem cell research. They have shown the generalizability and efficiency of the approach in creating 11 cell lines from the nuclei of skin cells of individuals with serious diseases or disabilities and the oocytes of donors. This work raises ethical and policy questions for hESC researchers. As hESC research proceeds internationally, these issues must be adequately addressed for public confidence to be maintained. We will discuss three issues here that particularly deserve attention: (i) ethical oversight of research collaborations between scientists working in countries with different standards, (ii) protection of oocyte donors, and (iii) avoidance of unrealistic expectations (therapeutic misconception).


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Human Oocyte Research: The Ethics of Donation and Donor Protection.
E. D. Levens and A. H. DeCherney (2008)
JAMA 300, 2174-2176
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On Women, Egg Cells and Embryos: Gender in the Regulatory Debates on Embryonic Research in the Netherlands.
M. Kirejczyk (2008)
European Journal of Women's Studies 15, 377-391
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Fearing a non-existing Minotaur? The ethical challenges of research on cytoplasmic hybrid embryos.
S Camporesi and G Boniolo (2008)
J. Med. Ethics 34, 821-825
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Reproductive cloning in humans and therapeutic cloning in primates: is the ethical debate catching up with the recent scientific advances?.
S Camporesi and L Bortolotti (2008)
J. Med. Ethics 34, e15
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Research ethics and lessons from Hwanggate: what can we learn from the Korean cloning fraud?.
R Saunders and J Savulescu (2008)
J. Med. Ethics 34, 214-221
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Maximum number of live births per donor in artificial insemination.
C. Wang, M.-Y. Tsai, M.-H. Lee, S.-Y. Huang, C.-H. Kao, H.-N. Ho, and C. K. Hsiao (2007)
Hum. Reprod. 22, 1363-1372
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Oocyte donation for stem cell research.
H. Mertes and G. Pennings (2007)
Hum. Reprod. 22, 629-634
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Human embryonic stem cell research..
(2006)
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 173, 1043-1045
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Reply: Mirror exchange of donor gametes should also accommodate scientific research.
G. Pennings (2006)
Hum. Reprod. 21, 1101
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Egg Donation and Human Embryonic Stem-Cell Research.
R. Steinbrook (2006)
N. Engl. J. Med. 354, 324-326
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