South Korean renowned stem cell expert Hwang Woo-suk, who made the first embryonic stem cells genetically matched to living adults, on Thursday admitted using ova donated by his two fellow researchers in his research.

In a depressed tone, the famous professor slowly delivered his apology to South Korean people and announced resignation as head of the World Stem Cell Hub at a press conference held at the Seoul National University (SNU).

The visiting professor of SNU also said he will step down from other positions at state-run and non-governmental agencies, but mainly focus on researching work.

Hwang admitted his two fellow female researchers donated eggs in 2003 under false names, when his epoch-making research suffered from shortage of human ova.

The professor denied he knew the fact from the very beginning, saying he verified the truth after the world famous English journal of Nature reported the issue in May 2004.

However, he acknowledged he withheld the truth after the journal requested his confirmation on this matter.

Moreover, Hwang also clarified he did not know a local hospital, who provided human eggs to Hwang's research, gave compensation to ova donors.

Several days before, Roh Sung-il, administrator of MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, admitted he provided 1.5 million won (1,445 US dollars) in compensation to women who gave their ova.

Fifty-two-year-old Hwang stunned the world by announcing his team first cloned human embryo and extract stem cells from it in May last year.

Hwang also attracted attention this August by announcing his team cloned a dog for the first time in the world.

Ethics controversy surfaced when Gerald Schatten, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a key partner in Hwang's research, issued a personal statement last week, announcing he stopped collaborative research ties with Hwang due to suspicions of unethical activity in ova procurement.

The fact of using fellow researchers ova is against the Declaration of Helsinki, an international charter adopted in 1964 by the World Medical Association that outlines ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.

The declaration states "when obtaining informed consent for the research project the physician should be particularly cautious if the subject is in a dependent relationship with the physician or may be under duress."

Earlier Thursday, South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare ( MOHW) released findings made by SNU's Institutional Review Board ( IRB) over the controversy surrounding Hwang and his team.

The IRB said in a report that the two junior researchers donated their ova not under pressure, said Choi Hee-joo, public relations officer at the MOHW.

IRB is an eight-member committee set up at the SNU to oversees the procurement of human eggs in producing stem cells.

Choi also defended Hwang in the press briefing to announce the findings of IRB, saying the Declaration of Helsinki only calls for "discretion and not an outright ban."

However, the Declaration of Helsinki is widely accepted as footstone for clinic medicine research in the world.

While, on the compensation actions, the IRB said they took place before South Korea's biotechnology ethics law against ova purchasing went into effect on Jan. 1, 2005.

Thus, the IRB judged such action "broke no laws."

In South Korea, Hwang is viewed as a hero by local people for they think Hwang brought their country standing in the front line in the world over biomedical research.

Last week, when a commentary of British journal of Nature called on the South Korean government to stand out to probe the alleged irregularities in the procurement of ova in Hwang's research, South Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) responded it has no plan to launch investigation.

The government decided to reserve judgment on the controversy before the National Biotech Committee reviewed the findings of IRB and Hwang's position on the matter, according to official of the MOST.

It seemed that the South Korean government is standing at a crossroad of whether to meet the international ethics standards or wink at the actions against international ethics standards.

Local bioethics organizations already asked Seoul government to clarify rules for procuring human eggs and create a public institution to regulate the donation and procurement process.

Source: Xinhua