POLICYMAKERS NEED to act responsibly and address the ethical issues surrounding embryonic stem-cell research, the chairwoman of the University College Cork (UCC) university research ethics board said yesterday.
Speaking at the launch of the Adelaide Hospital Society Health Policy Initiative in Trinity College, Dublin, Dr Deirdre Madden said the State needed to have a debate on stem-cell research.
Last November, UCC became the first third-level institution in the Republic to allow embryonic stem-cell research.
After much debate, members of the 40-strong governing body voted by 16 votes to 15 to endorse a code of practice recommended by the university’s academic council.
Dr Madden, who was also a member of the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction, said the university took the decision in the absence of legal guidelines to ensure researchers adhered to the highest ethical standards.
“Researchers should know what they are allowed to do and what they’re not allowed to do,” she said.
She said UCC was conscious under the Universities Act that researchers needed to research within the law.
“Embryonic stem-cell research is not prohibited by law in Ireland, so legally our researchers were entitled to engage in that sort of research,” she said.
“Our policy aims to ensure that, in the absence of legislation, researchers at UCC adhere to the highest ethical standards in their research.”
Dr Madden said research should be facilitated, subject to regulation and ethical oversight.
She acknowledged the huge divergence of views in society on what was a “very difficult and sensitive area” and said Ireland faced similar challenges to other countries that had debated stem-cell research.
“Consensus has been difficult to achieve in every country in which this has been debated, but I think we do have to have that debate,” she said.
“Policymakers have to step up and act responsibly and engage with this debate and ensure that the balance of conflicting ethical principles is addressed.”
The Adelaide Hospital Society, which aims to advance healthcare, also announced the appointment of a health policy advisory board yesterday.
In addition, the society published a study on fairness in the health service – Equity in Healthcare: a View from the Irish Healthcare System by Dr Samantha Smith of the Economic and Social Research Institute.
