LONDON, Aug 14, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Similar to China's aborted baby tissue bank, Britain is set to open an embryo stem cell bank next year. Dr. Robert Lovell-Badge, an embryologist at the Medical Research Council, told The Wall Street Journal that initially the bank would serve as a repository for embryonic stem cells from around the world, allowing researchers to study their growth and differentiation in laboratories and eventually generate fresh cell lines from new embryos. The macabre project has the backing of Liam Donaldson, Britain's Chief Medical Officer of Health, according to the Journal.
Annanova reports that India is investing heavily into a five-year research plan involving the use of human embryos from fertility clinics and tissue from aborted babies in the hopes of treating blindness and certain brain disorders. An eye institute in Hyderabad and the newly created National Brain Research Centre in New Delhi are to benefit from funding.