Stem Cell Research Guidelines soon:Sibal

New Delhi, May 22 (UNI) The national guidelines for stem cell research and therapy is being formulated jointly by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal today said. A drafting committee has formulated the guidelines, which will be put on the ICMR website to elicit response from all the stakeholders before finalising them, Mr Sibal told the Rajya Sabha.

India is not taking any assistance from the US on stem cell research, he said during question hour adding however that the US has shown keen interest in collaborating with India in the area.

The draft policy document has also been sent to National Institute of Health (NIH), US Department of Health and Human Services for suggestions, he added.

The comments received from NIH have been taken into consideration along with other comments while the programme on stem cell research has also been discussed with US experts, Mr Sibal said.

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