Is adult or tissue-specific human stem cell research exempt from requirements for ESCRO Committee review?
Yes, unless the project includes stem cells as defined in the UCSD Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research: “…culture-derived, human pluripotent stem cell population that is capable of: 1) sustained propagation in culture; and 2) self-renewal to produce daughter cells with equivalent developmental potential. ‘Pluripotent’ means capable of differentiation into mesoderm, ectoderm, and endoderm. This definition includes both embryonic and non-embryonic human stem cell lines regardless of the tissue of origin.” For example, this means that research on human hematopoietic stem cells would not normally be subject to ESCRO review, although it is still subject to review by the Human Research Protections Program, http://irb.ucsd.edu.
