Embryology

House of Lords written question – answered at on 26 November 2012.

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Photo of Lord Alton of Liverpool Lord Alton of Liverpool Crossbench

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Drayson on 4 November 2009 (WA 60), how many independent groups were invited by the Medical Research Council (MRC) to submit research proposals investigating women's experiences upon receipt of financial inducement to provide eggs for research; how many of those independent groups had published papers within the preceding five years that were co-authored by Professor Murdoch and Dr Herbert at the University of Newcastle; how many of those independent groups had not done so; and how the funding available for the social science study was advertised more widely to potential applicants outside the University of Newcastle.

Photo of Lord Marland Lord Marland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

The MRC-funded social science study, An investigation of the experiences of potential in vitro fertilisation donors in egg sharing for SCNT, was commissioned by the MRC to learn from women's experiences in relation to the separately blinded and separately managed research project and to inform future research involving egg donation and payment of IVF treatment costs.

The MRC commissioned this research directly from Professor Haimes' group, as acknowledged experts in this area of social science. This research was commissioned, and not advertised as an open call, because of the requirement to work closely with Professor Herbert's study, Improving the efficiency of human somatic cell nuclear transfer, and to be established alongside the main study. The social science study was subject to peer review and assurances were obtained by the MRC to ensure that this study would be sufficiently independent of the main research study before a funding decision was taken.

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