Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answers by Lord Drayson on 5 May (WA 95–96) and by Lord Young of Norwood Green on 22 October (WA 89–90), how the views, values and experiences of other women who provide eggs for research will continue to be studied until April 2011 if the project to which their eggs will be donated is due to terminate towards the end of 2009.
Answer
The Medical Research Council (MRC) has recently agreed a one-year extension to the duration to the University of Newcastle for the research project "Improving the efficiency of human somatic cell nuclear transfer". The project, which was previously due to end on 31 October 2009, is now expected to end on 31 October 2010. The duration of the separate social science study, which aims to learn from women's experiences and to inform future research involving egg donation and payment of IVF treatment costs, was also correspondingly extended. The social science study will end six months later than the research projects to allow data collected as the research project progressed to be analysed.