MP says New Zealand needs rules on body parts

Dianne Yates

New Zealand needs rules and regulations controlling the donation and use of body parts, a Hamilton MP says.

Labour list MP Dianne Yates -- whose Human-assisted Reproductive Technology Bill became law last year -- said that even after amendments by the health select committee and Parliament, the bill had only guidelines and ethical advice on some issues "around which I would prefer to see rules and regulations".

"The benefit of the latter is that rules and regulations can be enforced."

She said the law was "still weak around some ethical issues".

Ms Yates' comments come in the wake of the fall from grace of South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who has been accused of using unacceptable practices to acquire eggs from human donors and presenting faked research into human stem-cell cloning.

Prof Woo-suk was feted as a national hero in 2004 when he claimed to have successfully cloned a human embryo and produced stem cells from it.

Ms Yates said Prof Woo-suk was originally accused of breaching guidelines "but there is no penalty for breaching guidelines".

"I believe in using science to prevent disease but I also believe that we need adequate rules and regulations around the donation and use of body parts, including sperm, ova, embryo and stem cells to prevent abuse," she said.

"We want to know, as a public, that we can trust not only our scientists but the systems in which they work."

The Government is consulting on the issue of human stem cells for research, with submissions closing in March.

- nzpa