NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

This material is based on work supported by the National Academies, the Ellison Medical Foundation, and the Greenwall Foundation.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research / Board on Life Sciences, National Research Council, Board on Health Sciences Policy, Institute of Medicine.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-309-09653-7 (pbk.)—ISBN 0-309-55024-6 (pdf) 1. Embryonic stem cells—Research. 2. Human embryo—Research. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Life Sciences. II. National Research Council (U.S.). Board on Health Sciences Policy.

QH588.S83G85 2005

616′.02774—dc22

2005016338

Cover: A cluster of motor neurons and neural fibers derived from human embryonic stem cells in the lab of University of Wisconsin-Madison stem cell researcher and neurodevelopmental biologist Su-Chun Zhang. The motor neurons are shown in red; neural fibers appear green and the blue specks indicate DNA in cell nuclei. These motor neurons were developed from one of James Thomson’s original human embryonic stem cell lines. Copyright for the photograph is held by the University of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents.