The Council for Science and Technology Policy failed Friday to reach a consensus on lifting a ban on the production of human stem cells for research.
Some members of the government bioethics panel believe moves to lift the ban are premature, while others argued that the use of stem cells is necessary for research in regenerative medical techniques.
In 2001, the panel approved research on implanting human cells into animal embryos, which could produce organs in animal bodies for use in transplant operations.
But it banned implanting human embryos, unfertilized eggs and cells from dead fetuses into animal embryos, and approved the use of cells from deceased donors only after researchers obtain consent from donors before their deaths.