GUIDANCE Moreno (left) and fellow report cochair Richard O. Hynes, biology professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at MIT, discuss the new guidelines.
	PHOTO BY SUSAN MORRISSEY

"Heightened oversight is essential to assure the public that stem cell research is being carried out in an ethical manner," said report cochair Jonathan D. Moreno, biomedical ethics professor at the University of Virginia. "The oversight we call for will in many instances set a higher standard than required by existing laws or regulations."

The guidelines include a tightening of rules governing the donation of embryos, eggs, and sperm. The report recommends that all donors be required to give informed consent, that all research using such donations be reviewed by institutional review boards, and that donors not be paid for their donation.

In addition, the report warns against combining hESC with nonhuman primate embryos. For other, nonprimate animals, such as mice, introduction of hESC should be allowed after careful review, and the resulting hybrids should not be allowed to breed, the report says.

"This report is absolutely critical to ensure an effective and ethical approach to embryonic stem cell research," said Rep. Michael N. Castle (R-Del.). Castle is a cosponsor of a House bill to increase the number of hESC lines available for study with federal funds. "By ensuring that this cutting-edge research adheres to the highest ethical standards, the [National Academies] is rightly providing strong oversight recommendation," he said.