|
The government has approved its first embryonic stem-cell research since the introduction of the Bioethics Law, which requires researchers to use frozen embryos that have been kept for more than five years only for the purpose of studying treatments for fatal diseases with the consent of patients.
Insiders said Sunday that the Ministry of Health and Welfare, after deliberations by an advisory committee, had recently approved a research project by Maria Life Engineering Institute to develop a "bio-organ transplant technology."
A total of 27 institutes are now waiting for government approval of their research projects related to embryonic stem cells.
The approved project is aimed at developing human embryonic stem cells, using frozen embryos, to differentiate them into specialized cell types that will be used to cure such diseases as Parkinson’s Disease and spinal injuries. It will use normally fertilized embryos, thus making it impossible to clone humans and minimizing potential controversy over ethics.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
