Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 20 May (WA 317–18), whether details regarding the culture of outgrowing embryos are included in inspection reports to reflect deposition of stem cell lines in the UK Stem Cell Bank; whether the omission of such details in the inspection report for Roslin Cells Limited, dated 2 April 2008, means that no embryonic stem cell lines have been thus derived; and whether the inclusion of such details in the inspection reports for Guy's Hospital, dated 2 April 2008, and Oxford Fertility Centre, dated 16 September 2008, reflect embryonic stem cell lines having been derived.
Answer
I have been advised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that inspection reports are for licence committees to determine a centre's compliance with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, licence conditions and the HFEA code of practice. The reports focus on areas of compliance and non-compliance and therefore are not intended to be detailed scientific documents with a description of every protocol used. Description of a method used for embryo culture and stem cell derivation within an inspection report is not an indication of whether a stem cell line has been derived using that method.