Officials in the United Kingdom have permitted cloning of human embryos for therapeutic uses but not for reproductive purposes. Previously, under the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, the UK tightly controlled cloning by placing barriers in the way of anyone wanting to produce a child copy of a human being. Recently, the government has passed a law allowing studies with human embryos for making replacement tissues that could be used in transplant procedures.

Only scientists with a license are able to conduct these studies. Cloning is still under strictly controlled conditions. However, due to new regulations, scientists in the UK are now able to develop stem cells to regenerate tissue.