Question
asked Her Majesty's Government:What is meant by the terms (a) donor, and (b) inter-species embryos, in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.
Answer
Clause 24 of the Bill substitutes new sections to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 which refers to ““donor”” as someone who has donated sperm, eggs or an embryo for treatment which has led to a child being born. The provisions allow for the donor-conceived person and the donor to receive information. Paragraph 12 of Schedule 3 to the Bill refers to a ““child donor””. In that context, the ““child donor”” is someone who is about to undergo medical treatment which is likely to cause a significant impairment to their fertility. The provision allows for the storage of the ““child donor's”” gametes even if they do not have the competence to consent to the storage. The term inter-species embryo is defined in Clause 4 of the Bill. Inter-species embryos are defined as: embryos created by the fertilisation of a human egg by an animal sperm or an animal egg by a human sperm, or by combining a pro-nucleus of an animal with a human pro-nucleus. These are commonly referred to as ““true hybrid embryos”” and are approximately 50 per cent human and 50 per cent animal (new Section 4A(5)(a) of the 1990 Act); embryos created by cell nuclear replacement (a technique used in cloning), using human cells and animal eggs. The embryos would be more that 99 per cent human. These are commonly referred to as ““cytoplasmic hybrid embryos”” or ““cybrids”” (new Section 4A(5)(b) of the 1990 Act); embryos created by genetically modifying the cells of a human embryo using animal DNA. These are commonly referred to as ““transgenic human embryos”” (new Section 4A(5)(c) of the 1990 Act); and embryos created by attaching one or more animal cells to a human embryo. These are commonly referred to as human-animal chimera embryos (new Section 4A(5)(d) of the 1990 Act).