German Research Foundation calls for revision of stem cell legislation
The German Research Foundation (DFG), the central public funding organisation for academic research in Germany, is calling for the revision of the country's 2002 Stem Cell Act. The current German law bans the production of embryonic stem cells within Germany and only allows the import of stem cell lines created before 1 January 2002, for research purposes only. According to the DFG, these legal framework conditions have limited the country's researchers' contribution to stem cell research, since the cells available to German researchers are contaminated with animal cell products or viruses and have not been extracted or cultivated under standardised conditions. In recent years, new stem cell lines have been established that are free from contamination and that can be licensed in the EU. These cell lines have been partly acquired by the 'International Stem Cell Forum', which releases them for research. The DFG says the current key date regulation should be revoked in order to grant access to cell lines that have been established since 1 January 2002, which meet the current standards in science and technology. This would significantly improve the competitiveness of German scientists in the field of stem cell research, says the Foundation. However, it cautions that any new cell lines acquired should come exclusively from surplus embryos. Another key recommendation is the permission to use imported cell lines for diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic purposes. The 2002 Stem Cell Act states that cell lines may only be imported into Germany from abroad for purposes of research. However, with the development of new application-oriented procedures slowly becoming a reality, importation for diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic purposes should also be allowed, argues the DFG. Finally, German scientists should no longer fear being prosecuted for their involvement in international projects where these new stem cell lines are used, or for the publication of papers based on such research, which is the case under the current law. 'This situation has led to the increasing isolation of German researchers, especially considering the fact that more and more European countries are removing legal restrictions in the field of stem cell research,' argues the DFG. In order to avoid the 'criminalisation' of German researchers and to achieve legal security, the DFG proposes the removal of the 'threat of penalty' and the explicit restriction of the scope of application of the legislation to the 'home country'. In its statement on the law revision, the DFG reiterated its opposition to reproductive cloning: 'The DFG still condemns 'research cloning (somatic nuclear transfer), as the basic cytobiological processes of early cell development have not yet been adequately explained.' For the time being, alternative methods should be researched. 'Research into adult stem cells must also be further promoted, as it represents a meaningful supplement to, though not a substitute for, embryonic stem cell research,' says the Foundation.
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Germany