Hybrids & chimeras - public event
On Tuesday 26 June 2007, the HFEA held a public event to discuss the issues raised by the Hybrids and Chimeras consultation.
The event was chaired by TV's Nick Ross and a panel made up of:
- Dr Lyle Armstrong - Lecturer in Stem Cell biology, University of Newcastle
- Rev. Dr. Stephen Bellamy- Vicar of St. James' church Birkdale, Southport
- Josephine Quintavalle- Co-founder of Comment on Reproductive Ethics (CORE)
- Christine Young- Special Parkinson's Research Interest Group
- John Cornwell- Director of the Science and Human Dimension Project at Jesus College, Cambridge and regular writer for The Tablet
The discussion was wide and varied with a mix of questions from the floor and polling questions.
Some of the key issues raised were:
- Whether or not the research is necessary given therapeutic advances made in stem cell research to date have been from adult and cord blood stem cells.
- The notion of boundaries in science and whether or not this type of research crosses a boundary in the species divide.
- The efficacy of the proposed research, exploring if it is indeed possible, and if so how applicable research findings from hybrid embryos would be to human beings.
- The use of potential treatments when animals have been used in their production or research.
- Whether or not the moral and ethical reasons not to pursue the research outweigh the potential benefits it might bring.
Audio files
You can listen to the debate by downloading the following audio mp3 files:
Meeting introduction (6.6 Mb)
Panel introduction (2.2 Mb)
Part 1 (12.6 Mb)
Part 2 (12.9 Mb)
Part 3 (12.6 Mb)
Page last updated: 12 April 2009
The HFEA operates within a fast-moving, complex and ethically challenging area