Announcement: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released updated policy NOT-OD-26-028: NIH Policy on Research Involving Human Fetal Tissue, announcing a major shift in allowable research activities.
What’s Changing:
Effective as of the notice date, NIH funds will no longer be permitted for research involving human fetal tissue (HFT) obtained from elective abortions. This policy applies across both the NIH Intramural Research Program and all extramural research, including competitive applications for grants and cooperative agreements, Other Transaction (OT) awards, and R&D contract proposals submitted in response to solicitations issued after the effective date of the notice.
Impact on Currently Funded Projects:
For projects that are already funded, institutions may rebudget released funds to support alternative research activities under the same project, provided those activities remain allowable under the new policy. This offers flexibility for teams whose existing work may be affected by the change.
Principal Investigators and research teams should review any active or pending NIH-funded projects to determine whether they involve HFT. Proposals currently in development should be assessed for compliance prior to submission.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your DCG Officer.