Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 28 June (HL663), what policy the UK Stem Cell Bank has implemented regarding the process for depositing cell lines; what has been the maximum time interval to date between publication of any scientific papers describing the derivation of stem cells and deposition of corresponding samples in the UK Stem Cell Bank; and how the UK Stem Cell Bank has assisted researchers in complying with the policy of <i>Nature</i> that authors must make data and materials publicly available upon publication.

The UK Stem Cell Bank’s policy regarding the process for depositing stem cell lines is outlined in the United Kingdom Code of Practice for the Use of Human Stem Cell Lines. A copy of the Code of Practice is attached. Additional guidance on the process is provided by the Bank on their website and by the Independent Steering Committee which oversees the operation of the Bank and is supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Information related to the publication timing of scientific papers is not routinely monitored.

The Bank via the Steering Committee has four mechanisms for making data and materials available on request. Researchers may:

(i) apply for project approvals to include accessing stem cell lines held by the Bank;

(ii) apply to access stem cell lines held by other parties in the UK (subject to approval from the lines’ owners);

(iii) UK researchers apply for approval to import stem cell lines from overseas (subject to derivation of those lines meeting UK standards of ethical informed consent); and

(iv) Overseas researchers may apply for approval to export stem cell lines from the UK for use in their research.

Further information on these processes is available from the websites of the Bank and of the MRC. This guidance is accompanied by a UK Register of stem cell lines held by the Bank, including information on embryonic stem cell lines approved for use in the UK.