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Embryonic Economies: The Double Reproductive Value of Stem Cells

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2006

Sarah Franklin
Sarah Franklin
Affiliation:
BIOS Centre, LSE, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK E-mail: s.franklin@lse.ac.uk
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Abstract

Human Embryonic Stem (hES) cell research has met with a mixed reception internationally, but in the UK remains a significant national priority. Management of what is called the ‘national embryo supply’ in the UK involves new forms of governance at the ‘IVF-Stem cell Interface’, where questions about the provenance of donated embryos, including the ethics of their sourcing, are at a premium. This article explores the question of embryo donation to stem cell research from the perspective of the increasing proximity of IVF and hES cell derivation, using a model of ‘double reproductive value’ to explore what forms of exchange and flow are occurring, and how these are defined and negotiated in the context of a national hES cell coordination network of practitioners.

Keywords

Embryo donationIVFStem cellsInformed consentReproduction
Type
Articles
Information
BioSocieties , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 2006 , pp. 71 - 90
Copyright
London School of Economics and Political Science

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