The 12th PEALS Annual International Symposium was held in Newcastle on 22-23 February 2011 with a theme of ‘The uses of human reproductive tissue in research and treatment’. This event, funded by the MRC, brought together participants from a range of academic disciplines and interests in policymaking and professional practice.
The Symposium theme was chosen for being central to several ongoing projects in PEALS, reflecting growing worldwide interests and, for some, concerns. Whilst much has been published in academic literature on the provision of human reproductive tissue (eggs, sperm, embryos) to assist in the treatment of other individuals and couples to have a much wanted baby, less attention has been paid to the provision of human reproductive tissue (hRT) for scientific research. Such tissue is used in several areas of research, including; the improvement of fertility treatments; understanding of fertility; contraception; the development of stem cell science, and to aid understanding of the genetics of early human development.
The opening remarks to the Symposium were provided by Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, Chancellor of Newcastle University and Chair of the National Patient Safety Agency. Sir Liam was the UK’s Chief Medical Officer (1998-2010), and chaired the committee that produced the ‘Donaldson Report’ (Stem cell research: medical progress with responsibility: DH, June 2000). Sir Liam’s insights set the tone for a wide ranging, open, and sometimes frank discussion of the issues at stake for individuals and society, in the acquisition and uses of hRT for both treatment and research.
Participants included members of the following organisations:
Church of England; ESRC Genomics Policy Forum; Human Developmental Biology Resource (HDBR); Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA); Human Tissue Authority (HTA); Human Genetics Commission (HGC); Medical Research Council (MRC); Nuffield Council on Bioethics; National Patient Safety Agency; National Research Ethics Service (NRES); the Society for Applied Philosophy; Genome Canada; Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust; International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR); The European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) and the UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council.
Invited delegates were drawn from the Universities of:
Alberta, Canada; Ghent, Belgium; Lübeck, Germany; Flinders University, Australia and from the UK, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Lancaster, London, Newcastle, Oxford, and University College London.
Research Centres:
The Health Law Institute, Edmonton, Canada; The Bioethics Institute Ghent; Centre for Population Health Sciences and the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, Edinburgh; Centre for Family Research, Cambridge; Centre for Biomedicine and Society, University College London; University College London Institute of Child Health; The Newcastle Fertility Centre @ Life; and the Policy Ethics And Life Sciences Research Centre and the Institute of Health and Ageing, Newcastle University.
Presentations from scientists gave symposium participants an insight into research and the uses of hRT. Examples included; describing findings from research on somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) that has resulted in valuable knowledge about the early stages of embryo development that will aid clinical practice; avoidance of conflict of interest in acquiring embryos for research and applying knowledge gained from foetal tissue research to understanding the genetic basis of birth defects observed in clinics. A number of other presentations offered critical appraisal of either existing or potential scientific practice from a range of theoretical and conceptual perspectives. Several presentations provided findings from empirical studies of the perceptions of those providing hRT for research. This included some initial findings from the Medical Research Council (MRC) funded project ‘An investigation of women’s experiences of an IVF egg sharing scheme for somatic cell nuclear transfer research’, which was also the instigation for the symposium.
The debate and discussion provoked by the contrast between empirical findings and normative approaches (for example in relation to whether the offer of subsidised IVF treatment in exchange for eggs exploits women) was of especial interest given the current (2010-11) HFEA consultation on payment of gamete providers. Members of both the Authority and its Executive were invited to the symposium and active participants in discussions.
The closing presentation was given by Professor Dame Marilyn Strathern, who currently chairs the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Party on the donation of human bodily material for medicine and research. Our MRC project has already been presented to the Working Party and we continue to have involvement in their work.
We are grateful to our speakers, to those who chaired the sessions and to those who participated in discussions, for their contributions to such a successful event. We are also grateful to the Medical Research Council for funding this Symposium as part of the grant awarded to study the socio-ethical aspects of egg ‘sharing'.
The uses of human reproductive tissue in research and treatment: principles and practice: programme, abstracts and biographies