Renewed funding for Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Tue, 18 December 2001
For immediate release
RENEWED FUNDING FOR NUFFIELD COUNCIL ON BIOETHICS
AS THEY CELEBRATE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding for the next five years. The Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust, joint-funders of the Council since 1994, today confirmed that they will continue funding the Council until 2006. Chairman of the Council, Professor Ian Kennedy, expressed his gratitude to the funders and said “We are delighted to announce this new funding arrangement, which will not only bring greater financial stability but also allow the Council greater flexibility in its planning.”
The Nuffield Council of Bioethics was established by the Trustees of the Nuffield Foundation in 1991 to consider ethical issues arising from developments in medicine and biology. Now in its tenth year, the Council has achieved an international reputation, providing advice that assists policy-making, addresses public concerns and stimulates debate in bioethics.
The Council is recognised for producing rigorous, carefully-argued Reports. Five major Reports have been published to date - on the ethical issues associated with genetic screening, uses of human tissue, xenotransplantation, genetics and mental disorder and genetically modified crops. A recent Discussion Paper deals with stem cell therapy. Topics under inquiry at the moment include the ethics of healthcare-related research in developing countries, research in behavioural genetics and the patenting of human DNA. Reports on these topics will be published in 2002.
To mark its tenth year, the Council has upgraded and improved its website, which is being relaunched this week ([HOME]). As many as 6000 people visit the site each month to gain access to the Council’s reports and public consultation documents, and to find out more about bioethical issues currently in the news.
The Council has also carried out a poll in association with Prospect magazine which invited leading commentators and policymakers to reflect on the most ethically controversial developments in biomedicine and biotechnology over the next ten years. The issues identified include therapeutic and reproductive cloning, the implications for the provision (and rationing) of healthcare of an ageing population and global inequities in health. The results of the poll will be published in Prospect magazine and on the Council’s website.
Developments in biomedicine and biology are taking place at an unprecedented pace. Public support for some of the potential applications of these advances is high. However, many people have also expressed unease about their possible implications. It is often observed that science moves so quickly that ethics has difficulty in keeping up. The Council aims to consider developments before problems arise, providing valuable and timely guidance for policymakers and legislators. Although the UK does not have a statutory national bioethics commission there are a number of quasi-governmental bodies which examine bioethical issues. In this context, the Council’s independence of government has become increasingly important, as a result of public unease with governmental advisory bodies responsible for advising on and implementing policy in biomedicine and biotechnology. The Council perceives its independence as critical to its producing work in which the public can place its trust. Today’s new funding announcement will ensure that the Council can continue to fulfil its important role.
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Note for Editors:
1. For further information, please contact:
Nicola Perrin
Nuffield Council on Bioethics,
28 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3JS
Tel: 0171 681 9619, Fax: 0171 637 1712.
Email: nperrin@nuffieldfoundation.org
2. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is an independent body which examines the ethical issues raised by developments in medicine and biology. Established in 1991, it is funded by The Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust.
3. The terms of reference of the Council are:
- to identify and define ethical questions raised by recent advances in biological and medical research in order to respond to, and to anticipate, public concern;
- to make arrangements for examining and reporting on such questions with a view to promoting public understanding and discussion; this may lead, where needed, to the formulation of new guidelines by the appropriate regulatory or other body;
- in the light of the outcome of its work, to publish reports; and to make representations, as the Council may judge appropriate.
4. The Reports issued by the Council are:
Genetic screening: ethical issues (1993)
Human tissue: ethical and legal issues (1995)
Animal-to-human transplants: the ethics of xenotransplantation (1996)
Mental disorders and genetics: the ethical context (1998)
Genetically modified crops: the ethical and social issues (1999).
The Council has also published two discussion papers:
The ethics of clinical research in developing countries (1999)
Stem cell therapy: the ethical issues (2000)
The Council’s reports can be downloaded at: http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/publications
5. The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust, founded in 1943. It is one of the major benefactions of William Morris, later Lord Nuffield. The Foundation supports research, development and innovation particularly in the fields of education and the advancement of social welfare.
Website: www.nuffieldfoundation.org
6. The MRC aims to improve health by promoting research into all areas of medical and related science. It supports medical science in three main ways:
- Through its research establishments
- Grants to individual scientists
- Support for postgraduate students
Website: www.mrc.ac.uk
7. The Wellcome Trust is an independent research-funding charity, established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936. It is funded from a private endowment which is managed with long-term stability and growth in mind. The Trust's mission is to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health.
Website: www.wellcome.ac.uk
Last Updated Mon, 21 June 2004