emmnn119-5551212

stem cells----------------------------"Starry Night," by Vincent van Gogh

embryonic stem cell colonies from the lab of developmental biologist James Thompson
Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Used with permission © University of Wisconsin Board of Regents

Saying he can't trust his former collaborator, Dr. Gerald Schatten ends cooperation with Hwang Woo-suk

According to an article by Antonio Regalado in yesterday's Wall Street Journal entitled "Stem-cell rift between U.S., Korea shows difficulty obtaining eggs," U.S.-based stem cell researcher Gerald Schatten has ended his embryonic stem cell and human cloning collaboration with Seoul, Korea-based Hwang Woo-suk, due to his (Dr. Schatten's) concern that Dr. Hwang was not truthful with him regarding the source of some of the human eggs used in his (Dr. Hwang's) human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.

In a May 20, 2005, Etopia Media Medical News Network article entitled "Korean team led by Hwang Woo-suk creates 11 lines of human embryonic stem cells from afflicted patients; "egg farming" issues remain," it was reported that:

"Concern about ethical violations in the rush to collect enough eggs to do the experiments and possible treatments involving human embryonic stem cells was the subject of an April 18, 2005 Etopia Media Medical News Network interview with Massachusetts State Representative Betty Poirier. To hear that interview, click here."

On May 4, 2005, in another Etopia Media Medical News Network article, this one entitled "Dr. David Adamson, Chairman and CEO of Advanced Reproductive Care, Inc. (ARC), talks about egg donations for embryonic stem cell research," the biology and bio-ethics of "egg recruitment" for the purpose of creating human embryos for reproductive purposes was discussed with the CEO of a prominent IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinic down the road from Stanford University.

On May 23, 2005, in yet another Etopia Media Medical News Network article, this one entitled "Stanford bio-ethicist Mildred Cho says properly-informed and financially-uncompensated "research donors" will still want to donate their eggs for embryonic stem cell/bio-medical research," a bio-ethicist on the Stanford campus discussed the bio-ethics and practical aspects of the "egg recruitment" business. The article concludes:

"Dr. Cho explained the anomaly of a generic Stanford undergraduate woman being able to walk across El Camino Real into Palo Alto and be paid in the neighborhood of $10,000 for her egg donations to be used at a "fertility clinic" for in vitro fertilization while, if she went instead to the Stanford University Medical Center and donated the same egg(s) for use at the Institute for Cancer/Stem Cell Biology and Medicine for purposes of bio-medical research on embryonic stem cells, she'd be paid nothing because of the ethical strictures on doing so due to the fact that embryonic stem cell research is very heavily regulated and monitored, while fertility clinics and the entire assisted reproductive technology (ART) industry are not."

According to an article published today in The Korea Times, written by its stem cell reporter Kim Tae-gyu and entitled "‘In-House Egg Donation Not Unethical'":

"Even if Korean stem cell pioneer Hwang Woo-suk got eggs from his junior researchers, it raises no ethical or, needless to say, legal concerns, according to a lawmaker.

"Rep. Kim Hee-jung from the main opposition Grand National Party made the point in an interview with The Korea Times. She works for the Science, Technology, Information and Telecommunications Committee of the National Assembly, which overseas biotechnology in the country.

"'First of all, we don’t know whether Hwang recruited eggs from his junior scientists. But there is no legal problem even if he did, and I think there are no ethical concerns either,' the first-term lawmaker said.

"She said that the junior researchers offered their eggs voluntarily and would have full knowledge of the risks associated with the procedures involved in producing human ovum for genetic testing as they are scientists as well."