Stem cell laws and policy in China
Encyclopedia
The laws and policies regarding stem cell research in the People's Republic of China
are relatively relaxed in comparison to that of other nations. The reason for this is due to different traditional and cultural views in relation to that of the West.
As a result of the increased interest in this field of research, in 2003, the People's Republic of China
Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health issued official ethical guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research in its territories. The guidelines strictly forbid any research aimed at human reproductive cloning and require that the embryos used for stem cell research come only from:
American scientific journals Science and Nature have both reported in recent years that China's stem cell programs hold potential, and in 2004 a delegation from Britain's Department of Trade and Industry concluded more emphatically that Chinese research in the field was already world-class. Funding for stem cell research by the Chinese government is extremely limited compared to Western nations, with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology planning to devote between US$33 million and US$132 million on stem cell research during the next 5 years. By contrast, the state of California
alone has earmarked US$3 billion to fund stem cell research at California institutions during the next decade. However, it is simply cheaper to produce goods in China than in nearly any other country, and in sophisticated sectors such as medical research, the cost advantage is likely to be retained for quite some time.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
are relatively relaxed in comparison to that of other nations. The reason for this is due to different traditional and cultural views in relation to that of the West.
Laws and regulations
China has one of the most unrestrictive embryonic stem cell research policies in the world. In recent years, seeing the research opportunities that China's lax regulations provide, many expatriate Chinese scientists from the West are returning to China to establish stem cell research centers and laboratories there.As a result of the increased interest in this field of research, in 2003, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Health issued official ethical guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research in its territories. The guidelines strictly forbid any research aimed at human reproductive cloning and require that the embryos used for stem cell research come only from:
- Spared gamate or blastocyst after in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures;
- Fetal cells from accidental spontaneous or voluntarily selected abortions;
- Blastocyst or parthenogenetic split blastocyst obtained by somatic cell nuclear transferSomatic cell nuclear transferIn genetics and developmental biology, somatic-cell nuclear transfer is a laboratory technique for creating a clonal embryo, using an ovum with a donor nucleus . It can be used in embryonic stem cell research, or, potentially, in regenerative medicine where it is sometimes referred to as...
technology; or - Germ cells voluntarily donated.
American scientific journals Science and Nature have both reported in recent years that China's stem cell programs hold potential, and in 2004 a delegation from Britain's Department of Trade and Industry concluded more emphatically that Chinese research in the field was already world-class. Funding for stem cell research by the Chinese government is extremely limited compared to Western nations, with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology planning to devote between US$33 million and US$132 million on stem cell research during the next 5 years. By contrast, the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
alone has earmarked US$3 billion to fund stem cell research at California institutions during the next decade. However, it is simply cheaper to produce goods in China than in nearly any other country, and in sophisticated sectors such as medical research, the cost advantage is likely to be retained for quite some time.