Parliament passes stem cell Bill
[ Research Review 0307 : ]
By Silvia Dropulich
Australian scientists will be able to do research that their counterparts are doing in the UK and in privately funded laboratories in the US, according to Professor Loane Skene, Chair of the Lockhart Committee, which reviewed Australian stem cell legislation.
Professor Skene (left) was commenting after a decision by Federal Parliament late last year to lift the ban on therapeutic cloning. Senator Kay Patterson’s private member’s Bill to lift the ban was passed by the Senate in early November by 34 votes to 32 after a conscience vote. It was passed by the Lower House in December. A final attempt by those opposed to therapeutic cloning to send the Bill back to the Senate for amendment failed.
The Bill is based on the recommendations of the Lockhart Committee. It allows embryos to be created for scientific research by the technique of somatic cell nuclear transfer (the ‘Dolly’ technique) and to be used in research for up to 14 days.
Professor Skene said scientists would only be able to do research on embryos if they were licensed. “They will need to obtain a licence from the Federal licensing committee and must report to the committee on the progress and outcome of the research,” she said.
“The advantage of this type of research over other experiments using excess embryos from fertility treatment programs is that it will be possible to develop human embryonic stem cells that are matched to particular people.
“This will be very important in the future if these cells are able to be used for treating diseases because ‘personally matched’ cells are less likely to be rejected by the person’s body than other transplanted tissue.”
Professor Skene said that cures for human diseases were not likely to be available for many years, if at all, as many experiments would be needed to prove that such procedures would work and would be safe.
“There will need to be tests on animals and then clinical trials involving humans as well as extensive testing for quality assurance,” Professor Skene said.
“This is likely to take at least a decade and possibly much longer. However, even in the short term, research will reveal valuable information about the way that cells develop and function in an early human embryo and the function of particular drugs.
“This may assist in improving the success rates of current fertility programs and also other types of medical treatment.”
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