Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 31 March 2011 (WA 298–9) and by Lord Prior of Brampton on 24 March (HL7011), whether it is a condition of any licence granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that a sample of the stem cell lines derived must be deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank either prior to or pursuant to publication; if not, why not; and if so, when each of the five human embryonic stem cell lines derived from blastocysts following pronuclear transfer as described in Nature (doi:10.1038/nature18303) were accordingly deposited.
Answer
It is a condition of all research licences granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) that a sample of any stem cell line derived under that research project is deposited in the UK Stem Cell Bank. The HFEA has advised that it is not, therefore, necessary for a licence to additionally specify that any sample be deposited either prior to or pursuant to any publication about the derivation of stem cells under that project. It is a requirement of the UK Stem Cell Bank that applicants provide copies of any published scientific papers related to the derivation and/or characterisation of the stem cell line. The process for depositing cell lines in the UK Stem Cell Bank is a matter for the Bank itself to determine.