SEOUL--Hoping to close loopholes exploited during the Woo Suk Hwang cloning scandal, South Korea's National Bioethics Committee has approved stronger regulations on sperm and egg donations for research and medical use. The committee is still mulling a proposal to ban researchers from transplanting human stem cells into nuclei-removed embryos of humans or other primates.
Scientists say that nuclear transfer could lead to insights into cures for spinal cord injury or diseases such as Parkinson's. Activists fear that such research could allow researchers to create chimeras. Less-contentious provisions include prohibiting minors or women who have never given birth from donating eggs. Also banned are donations in which coercion between donor and recipient is possible--such as a junior researcher donating for an experiment, as had occurred in Hwang's lab. Although barred from selling eggs, donors can be compensated for their expenses. After the committee decides whether to propose a nuclear-transfer ban, the rules would require approval from the National Assembly before they become law.
