Brussels, 07/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, the High Level Group for Life Sciences, created at the initiative of Commissioner Philippe Busquin and chaired by Professor Axel Kahn, acknowledges that the use of human stem cells in regenerative medicine is still at a very early stage of development, but considers that it opens the way to real progress for the treatment of various serious illnesses. The Group mainly notes that: (1) The EU should keep up its support for research on stem cells of every kind, including human embryonic stem cells. (2) Reproductive cloning must be banned. (3) The obtaining of totipotent stem cells from the transfer of the core of the somatic cell (also known as therapeutic cloning) has not been confirmed and seems to present considerable difficulties, so that research into new strategies for overcoming rejection is greatly encouraged. (4) Although the Group states that it respects the separate legal person status of the human embryo even before implantation, it supports the use of surplus human embryos for the preparation of lines of human embryonic stem cells. The work on human embryonic stem cells must be regulated, scientifically relevant, and directly aimed at substantial objectives controlled from the ethical point of view. (5) A European register of human embryonic stem cell lines must be opened.