The Human Genetics Commission (HGC) was an advisory

non-departmental public body In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of n ...

that advised the

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on the ethical and social aspects of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

. This included genetic testing, cloning and other aspects of molecular medicine. The Commission was created after a review of the UK government biotechnology advisory framework in 1999. It was chaired initially by the lawyer, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC and, from 2007 to 2009, the acting chair was Sir John Sulston. From 2009, the Commission was chaired by Professor Jonathan Montgomery and comprised 21 members whose backgrounds include the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, consumer affairs, philosophy and ethics, scientific research, and clinical practice. Representatives of the Chief Medical Officers of

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Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

also sat on the Commission. The Commission was abolished when

quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where NG ...

s were reviewed by the newly elected government in October 2010. The Commission published its final paper in May 2012.

References

External links

Human Genetics Commission archived website
(archived by the UK National Archives on 4 May 2012) {{authority control Defunct non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Department of Health and Social Care Ethics commissions Genetics in the United Kingdom Genetics organizations Medical regulation in the United Kingdom Regulation of biotechnologies