Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 2 November 2009 (WA 7-8) and 10 February 2010 (WA 135), what was the source of the information described in the internal background note to Question HL5792, which stated that 66 eggs were donated for research at the Newcastle Centre for Life in 2008 and 52 eggs from six treatment cycles were similarly donated between 1 April 2009 and 31 August 2009; and whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the original documents from which those data were derived.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that on no occasion has it permitted embryos or gametes provided by patients for a particular research project to be used in separate research, in the circumstances set out in the noble Lord's Question. Additionally, no research licences have been required to cover oocyte karyotyping and studies of cell cycle proteins in human eggs in the circumstances described by the noble Lord. In respect of the use of human eggs under research licence R0122, the HFEA has advised that this information was provided to the noble Lord, in response to his request to the HFEA for this information, by the authority's chief executive. The HFEA has also advised that it does not know how the number of eggs used in research projects relates to information provided to patients participating in that research because the use of human eggs for research purposes does not require a research licence from the authority. The HFEA has advised that the source of the information contained in the background note to Question HL5792 was the authority's register of patients, donors and treatment cycles. The HFEA has also advised that the information quoted by the noble Lord was submitted by Newcastle Centre for Life via an electronic database interface; therefore, there are no copies of original documents to place in the Library.