Eggs and Cash: Stem Cell Agency Considering Easing Restrictions on Stem Cell Lines Derived Using Payments
By David Jensen,
California Stem Cell Report
| 07. 07. 2013
The California stem cell agency is moving to remove an absolute ban on use of stem cell lines derived from eggs from women who have been paid to provide them.
The action comes as state legislation is headed for Gov. Jerry Brown's desk that would permit payments for eggs to be used in research that is not funded by the agency.
The measure (AB926) would not alter the separate ban on egg payments involving research funded by the $3 billion stem cell agency.
Under a proposal that will
come before the agency's standards group July 24, CIRM's governing board could approve the use of stem cell lines derived as a result of payment to women. Board action would be based on whether stem cell lines would “advance CIRM's mission” and would follow a staff evaluation involving scientific and ethical issues.
Over recent years, stem cell researchers around the country have reported that they are not able to obtain sufficient eggs without payment. And earlier this year, paid egg providers were used in
research in Oregon that cloned human stem...
Related Articles
By Michael Le Page , New Scientist | 06.25.2026
We now know the master gene that controls embryonic development in people. Called NANOG, its role has been identified by making precise changes to the DNA of fertilised eggs using a technique called CRISPR base editing.
The discovery might lead...
By Sarah Norcross, Sandy Starr, Amanda Cooney, and Anneliese Burton, BioNews | 07.06.2026
By Anna Louie Sussman, The New York Times | 07.01.2026
Birthrates in much of the developed world are at record lows, but there’s one demographic group that’s exploring new frontiers of fertility: ultrawealthy men. Deploying nearly limitless resources, a small number of them are reproducing at such an extraordinary scale...
By Mustapha Bature Sallama, Modern Ghana | 06.11.2026
In much of West Africa, a woman who cannot bear children does not merely face a medical condition. She faces a verdict. Her marriage may unravel. Her community may turn cold. Her identity, in a social order that ties womanhood...