Governance of the European Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry
The quality of the data available on hESCreg is critical to its international scientific impact and its ethical acceptability within Europe. The registry must establish criteria for 'quality' that are meaningful to the intended users and it must also consider the needs of the public for unbiased information.
Consequently, evaluation of registry data must be an open, fair and scientifically rigorous process and remain neutral on the science and ethics. Good governance, including the involvement of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) will be vital to ensure that the natural debates on science and ethics are enabled that record different scientific views and acknowledge national differences. hESCreg puts strong focus on standardisation to enable comparison of data on lines from different sources.
All activities with view to the handling of registry data and information are governed by a Code of Practice and Standard Protocols. Through these activities the registry will command the highest level of respect as an international model for resolution of international data on stem cells in a way that is scientifically robust and accommodates cultural diversity.
