Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Triesman on 29 October 2007 (WA 144) and 12 November 2007 (WA 1-2), whether they have had any discussions with Chinese representatives regarding human cloning; and what is their assessment of recent reports that China's Ministry of Health has issued a ban on clinical use of therapeutic cloning.
Answer
The Chinese ministry of health issued a series of guidelines on the clinical use of medical technologies on 16 March 2009. Restrictions are applied to a broad set of clinical techniques, and include a temporary ban on the clinical use of therapeutic cloning. Specifically, they include treatments by cloning technologies, autologous stem cell and immune cell therapy, gene therapy techniques, xenotransplantation technology, surgical treatment of the central nervous system, stereotactic surgical treatment of mental illness, allogeneic stem cell transplantation technology, and vaccines as therapeutic techniques. The temporary ban should be seen in the context of wider medical reforms in China and will allow officials to clarify the legal and regulatory frameworks for innovative therapies and the boundaries between clinical trials and clinical applications. The UK Medical Research Council is in the process of finalising a report on research ethics in China, which includes a review of stem cells research, clinical trials and implications for research collaboration.