Moving Human Embryonic Stem Cells Internationally: Near-future Challenges for the UK Stem Cell Bank and American Collaborators¹

The UK and the US are both going through a period of political change that is reflected in the regulation and practice of stem cell banking. This chapter describes key areas for critical social, ethical and legal analysis of stem cell banking in the UK at the only bank in the nation, the UK Stem Cell Bank (UKSCB). It discusses the background to the UKSCB and other key institutions in international stem cell banking. The chapter talks about a set of key challenges facing the field. The US has had a complicated relationship with embryonic stem cells, alternating between tentative support, a Presidential ban on federal funding, to the current encouragement, support and federal funding of such work by the Obama administration. The NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry was set up following the Bush Executive Order in August 2011 that prohibited the federal funding of any stem cell lines created after the date of his Order.