HFEA brings together an international panel of experts
15 December 2004
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates assisted reproduction and human embryo research in the UK, is bringing together a worldwide panel of experts as part of its ongoing work to keep ahead of the fast pace of scientific change.
The HFEA's Horizon Scanning Expert Panel (HHSEP) is a key element in a wider horizon scanning programme launched by the HFEA today, following approval of the panel's work plan at this morning's meeting of the HFEA Scientific and Clinical Advances Group.
The programme will inform the policy development and decision making of the HFEA by:
- providing an expert assessment of upcoming scientific and technical developments
- identifying priority areas for further scrutiny.
The HHSEP includes experts in stem cell technology from universities in the UK, Australia and Japan, specialists in assisted reproductive technologies from the US and Belgium and leading academics in cloning techniques, developmental genetics and cryopreservation (see Appendix for full list). The panel will also be supported by the HFEA's policy team which will identify upcoming issues and monitor the scientific literature.
Suzi Leather, Chair of the HFEA, said:
"New developments in research offer great potential to tackle disease and improve the quality of life and the pace of advance is increasing all the time. But many of these advances are controversial and raise important ethical questions.
"The HFEA's role is to protect the public interest by making sure that regulation keeps pace with scientific developments.
"We have a number of initiatives to track and predict the scientific environment from current developments to trying to build a picture of what will be happening in five to ten years time.
"By bringing together an expert panel of leading academics from across the world we will be better able to make sure that our thinking stays in front of the scientific agenda and provide an important external perspective in our work.
"The panel's experience and expertise will help us identify upcoming scientific developments and provide a more thorough review of the issues that these developments could raise.
"Our horizon scanning work will give us advanced warning of the kind of research projects and treatments techniques that we will be considering in the future. In this way we will strengthen the decisions we make by providing a broader scientific picture on which we can explore the ethical and regulatory implications. The panel's deliberations will also help inform parliament in its work to revise the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990."
Research into this field is not only happening in the UK but on an international level. We are also looking at animal studies because this is usually where embryo development work begins. This should provide us with advanced notice of developments in human embryo research.
Current and forthcoming ´horizon scanning' work includes:
- In vitro maturation of eggs and sperm
- The potential for artificial eggs and sperm to be produced from stem cell lines for use in fertility treatment
- An assessment of the risks and potentials of new technologies, such as using radio frequency microchips to identify embryos
The horizon scanning work will also feed into the HFEA's broader policy development and consultation work in the New Year. This includes:
- Welfare of the child consultation which launches in January 2005
- Following up on the sperm, egg and embryo donation consultation which ends 4 February 2005
- An analysis of stakeholder feedback on the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to detect genetic susceptibility to disease
- Revising the consent forms used by services
- Work on the implementation of the European Union tissue directive
- Development of a 7th Edition of the HFEA Code of Practice
Ends
Notes to editors
The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), donor insemination (DI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos.
Appendix: HFEA Horizon Scanning Expert Panel Members
- Professor Twink Allen Equine Fertility Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
- Professor Peter Andrews Centre for Stem Cell Biology, University of Sheffield, UK
- Professor Keith Campbell Divison of Animal Physiology, University of Nottingham, UK
- Dr Jacques Cohen Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science of Saint Barnabas in New Jersey, USA
- Professor Alan DeCherney Department of Obstetrics and Gynaeology, UCLA School Medicine, USA
- Dr David Edgar Department of Human Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Liverpool, UK
- Professor Martin Evans Director of the School of Biosciences and Professor of Mammalian Genetics of Cardiff University, UK
- Dr Christopher De Jonge Reproductive Medicine Centre, University of Minnesota, USA
- Professor Paul Devroey Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Dutch speaking Free Univeristy in Brussels, Belgium
- Professor Hans Evers Academic Hospital Maastricht, Netherlands
- Professor Stephen Hillier Centre for Reproductive Biology, Edinburgh, UK
- Professor Martin Johnson Department of Anatomy Univeristy of Cambridge, UK Professor Gab Kovacs Monash IVF, Australia
- Professor Henry Leese Department of Biology, University of York, UK
- Dr Norio Nakatsuji Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences, Kyoto Univeristy, Japan
- Professor Andre Van Steirteghem Centre for Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital Brussels, Belgium
- Professor Alan Trounson Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, Monash University, Australia
- Dr Maureen Wood Aberdeen Fertility Clinic, Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, UK
For further information please contact the HFEA press office.
Page last updated: 12 March 2009