Updated Nov.8,2005 21:01 KST

Fertility Doctor Denies Illegal Ova in Stem Cell Research
The head of a fertility clinic being investigated for involvement in the trade in human egg cells on Tuesday denied supplying illegally harvested ova to stem cell pioneer Prof. Hwang Woo-suk. Roh Sung-il, the head of the clinic at Mizmedi Women¡¯s Hospital in Seoul, said the eggs were acquired legally and with the donors¡¯ consent but would not say how many ova he provided to Hwang.

Roh said police had taken all relevant documents and he was sure there would be no further problems. The doctor has been involved in stem cell research with Hwang since 1995 and received a medal from the government for his contribution to the field in 2004.

Asked about charges that the clinic conducted in-vitro fertilization on patients who it knew had obtained the eggs illegally, Roh said he did not know whether patients bought ova outside the hospital. ¡°A doctor is not an investigator,¡± he said. He denied violating the Medical Service Act or the Bioethics Law in the process of conducting operations. However, he said he was in principle aware that it is possible to obtain egg cells illegally.

Police say the investigation is limited to whether Roh was involved in the illegal trade of ova and has no bearing on the high-profile stem cell research project. Officers said they found no additional suspicions in the four hospitals they investigated.

The Democratic Labor Party in a statement on Tuesday said Roh was involved in Hwang¡¯s efforts to clone human embryos, which required a massive number of human eggs, and demanded a clear explanation. The DLP also called on Roh to resign from a committee on the advanced medical industry under the direct control of President Roh Moo-hyun.

(englishnews@chosun.com )


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