Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 June 2007 (WA 8–9) regarding the distinction between a pronucleus and a nucleus, whether cells containing pronuclei and nuclei are also distinct; and whether it would be accurate to describe the polar body of an oocyte that contains a pronucleus as equivalent to the blastomeres of an embryo that contain nuclei.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it would not be accurate to describe the polar body of an oocyte that contains a pronucleus as equivalent to the blastomeres of an embryo that contain nuclei. The HFEA has also advised that it has never identified the polar body of an egg as being identical to the blastomere of an embryo. The content of professional body guidelines is a matter for the professional bodies themselves and not the HFEA.