Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill [HL]

My Lords, the amendment tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, would extend the new admixed category where the animal DNA does not predominate to include embryos where the animal DNA would not ultimately predominate. I shall try to explain that. I can appreciate why the noble Earl may think this is necessary, but I can assure him that the provisions in the Bill already address this situation. If it were considered that an embryo was to be created in which the human DNA would ultimately predominate, an application for an admixed research licence would have to be made to the HFEA at the outset. This is because a licence is required to bring about the creation of a human admixed embryo. If a researcher was intending to create an embryo that would at some stage be predominantly human, for however short that time might be, they would need a licence to do so. The noble Lord, Lord Walton, also referred to tetraploid complementation where the cells of an early animal embryo are altered so that they contain twice the usual complement of DNA. These cells could give rise only to extra-embryonic tissue—for example, a placenta—and any human cells placed within it could give rise to the embryo proper. It would be an admixed embryo for the purposes of the new catch-all category that the Bill is adding to the definition of human admixed embryo at Clause 4. The amendment tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Howe, adds a regulation-making power to the categories of human admixed embryos to enable the definition to be extended. That was the position the Bill was in when it was last considered by your Lordships' House. We listened to persuasive arguments at that time that such a provision was too open, and we therefore replaced it with a category proposed by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, of any other embryo containing animal and human DNA where the animal DNA does not predominate. In the case of an embryo in which the brain might be predominantly animal, it is worth reminding ourselves what we mean by ““predominant””. We refer not only to the percentage of the DNA but also to its location and functionality. If that entity had a human brain, that could clearly have a predominant function so, by definition, it would be at the human end of the spectrum of human admixed embryos and would require an HFEA licence. The amendments are therefore not necessary and could lead to a lack of clarity in the Bill as they overlap with the current provisions. I invite the noble Earl to withdraw his amendment.