Recent developments in the 'stem cell century': implications for embryo research, egg donor compensation, and stem cell patents.

In November 2007, I published Stem Cell Century: Law and Policy for a Breakthrough Technology. (1) The book analyzes a range of complicated legal issues that arise from stem cell [...]
The past year has witnessed three developments with significant implications for important policy disputes concerning stem cell research: the creation of adult cells that are reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem cells, new progress in the creation of embryonic stem cell lines using cloning technology, and a decision of the United States Patent and Trademark Office upholding the validity of foundational patents in embryonic stem cell technology. These developments directly implicate three important policy issues surrounding stem cell research: the appropriateness of public funding of embryo research, whether compensation of human egg donors should be permitted, and whether human embryonic stem cell lines ought to be patentable. This article describes and critically analyzes the implications of these developments for law and policy.