An ethics panel of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology approved a revision to its guidelines to allow the use of fertilized eggs, left unused after fertility treatment, to obtain stem cells, officials of the society said.
Under the revision, couples who have more than enough fertilized eggs in storage at fertility clinics could donate them to researchers, they said Saturday.
Stem cells, which can develop into cells that make up various human body parts, are the focus of regenerative medicine research, in which replaceable tissues and body parts are created.