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Roh Sung-il, the head of the
MizMedi fertility clinic in Seoul and a collaborator of Prof. Hwang
Woo-suk in stem cell research, has revealed that he paid W1.5 million
(US$1,500) out of his own pocket to each of 20 women who donated eggs
for a 2002 project. He says he made the decision without consulting
Prof. Hwang. Since even in the U.S. paying women for occyte donations
was not banned until this year, Roh says there was nothing illegal
about the practice. But that is not the point. What matters is that a document
supplementing the Hwang team's stem-cell cloning research paper
published in the journal Science in February last year states, "Eggs
used for the research were donated voluntarily; none of the egg donors,
their families and relatives received any benefit from the donation." It would deal a serious blow to Korea��s achievements in the
nascent science if, as a result of the scandal, the country was seen as
ignoring international ethical standards. In another project cloning
stem cells that genetically match those of injured or sick patients,
whose results were published to great fanfare in May, one can wonder if
there were any irregularities in the way eggs were obtained. Meanwhile,
there could also be questions in the minds of some about Hwang��s
insistence that none of his stem cell research is aimed at cloning
human beings unless the matter is cleared up. International competition in stem cell research is fierce. The
bioengineering world may well pressure the journal Science to take
steps against Hwang and his team over the paper, and that would spell
trouble as the team seeks international patents for its bioengineering
technologies. It is high time Prof. Hwang revealed all the facts about the
allegation that a junior researcher in his team donated egg cells for
the project. Ignorance is no defense. To salvage international support
for and cooperation in stem-cell research, we must find a mechanism
whereby Hwang��s team can be supervised and its procedures kept
transparent by a responsible agency like the National Bioethics
Commission.
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