Ms Geraldine Luddy:

The consent of those who created the embryos is required in determining what to do with those that are not implanted. Some will be used again in another cycle of assisted human reproduction while others may be used for research and others destroyed. If people wish their embryos to be stored they can be stored for a period of time. Embryos cannot be created purely for research and research can only be undertaken on embryos that have already been created for AHR treatment and are supernumerary. There would have to be a submission to the regulatory authority, on a case-by-case basis, for any such research which itself would have to be cleared by the institution or the clinic's ethical committee.