Taiwan

Taiwan has recently formed the Taiwan Society for Stem Cell Research (TSSCR), which offers an important venue for exchanges among stem cell researchers from the laboratory to the clinic in Taiwan and around the world.

This TSSCR has been proactive in increasing communication between research scientists and the general public as well as establishing new stem cell guidelines for stem cell research in Taiwan. To read more, visit their website.

On the 9th of August 2007 The Department of Health issued a new policy on the Ethics of Human Embryo and Embryonic Stem Cell Research. In addition, new national legislation, the Human Embryo and Embryonic Stem Cell Research Act was approved in the Executive Yuan on 24th July 2008.

These new guidelines call for special scrutiny on human embryonic stem cell research with rigorous ethical standard and define permissible and impermissible experiments. This legislation, in adherence to international standard will ensure a role of Taiwanese stem cell researchers in international collaborations. Furthermore, the Department of Economic Affairs has also committed to sponsor the establishment of a Taiwan Stem Cell Bank, which will be another critical catalyst for further international collaborations.

For more details, please visit Taiwan Society for Stem Cell Research Website: Guidelines for Taiwan Stem cell Research

Taiwan Department of Health

The Taiwan Department of Health  has issued a policy on the Ethics of Human Embryo and Embryonic Stem Cell Research. 

Research Societies and Networks

Taiwan Society for Stem Cell Research

On April 16 2005 the Taiwan Society for Stem Cell Research (TSSCR) was officially established. The Society primarily aims at providing opportunities for close interactions among researchers in Taiwan and also with other international stem cell societies and networks.

 


 

National Science Council

The National Science Council (NSC) is a government run agency which is primarily coordinating and funding most basic research in Taiwan.

National Health Research Institutes

The National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) distributes the funds to support research in public and private institutions throughout the country and conducts research in its research divisions.

Stem cell research has enjoyed strong governmental and public support in Taiwan. Under Taiwanese law, research on human embryonic stem cell lines is permissible, as is the derivation of new human embryonic stem cell lines, and to date more than 20 such lines have been derived by Taiwanese labs. Human somatic cell nuclear transfer and the creation of human embryos (up to the pre-implantation stage) are also allowed for research purposes.