CIHR seeks to provide guidelines for stem cell research in Canada

A draft report from an ad hoc working group of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is encouraging the creation of a national oversight body to deal with the ethical review of research involving stem and germ cells. The recommendation is one of several now being circulated for discussion before a final report is submitted later this year.

The working group led by Dr Janet Rossant was assembled at the request of CIHR president Dr Alan Bernstein to help fill a void in the research guidelines and regulatory framework regarding stem cell research, which has become a controversial topic in recent months.

The draft report also recommends that research on existing human embryonic stem cells should be eligible for funding by CIHR, as should stem cells remaining after infertility treatments. It also recommends that the 1998 Tri-Council Policy Statement published by the three granting councils should be reworked to incorporate recent developments in human embryo, fetal tissue and stem cell research.

The working group’s mandate was to provide guidance on what types of stem cell experimentation should be funded by CIHR. The scope of their work did include in-depth analysis of ethical issues, which has been conducted by several other countries including the US, UK and Holland.

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