Copenhagen, June 20 (Reuters): Belgian scientists said today they have cloned the first human embryos from unripe eggs matured in the laboratory, an achievement that could help to overcome a stumbling block in stem cell research.

Until now, scientists who have managed to clone human embryos have used donated mature eggs which are in short supply.

But researchers at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium have demonstrated that immature eggs that are not suitable for fertility treatments can be grown in the laboratory and then be used to create embryos for stem cell research and therapeutic cloning to treat a range of diseases.

“We’ve created an alternative source for human eggs for cloning,” Joisiane Van der Elst, one of the researchers, told a fertility meeting.

Stem cells are master cells that have the capability to grow into any type of cell in the body.