Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 June (WA 184), what information is held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority regarding the generation of 278 cybrid embryos after which work was discontinued, as reported in the Independent on 13 January 2009 and 5 October 2009; and what was the total recorded number of non-human eggs used in such attempts.
Answer
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that there is nothing to add to my Written Answer of 23 June 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 182-3). The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, requires the HFEA to be satisfied that the proposed research project is necessary or desirable for the purposes specified in the Act, that the use of embryos is necessary and that consent for the purposes of research has been obtained. No legislation is proposed on this matter. The HFEA has advised that it holds no information regarding what was reported in the Independent. The authority has also advised that it continues to hold the data referred to in the noble Lord's Question.