1. To accelerate scientific progress and improve global
practice in stem cell research by enhancing international
collaboration and information sharing;
2. To encourage standardized benchmarking for the
derivation and handling of human embryonic stem cell
lines by propagating open disclosure;
3. To inform the scientific community of the various
standards being applied to stem cell research [4];
4. To help ensure that data generated by different laborato-
ries using the same cell lines are comparable, reproduc-
ible and consistent [9];
5. To contribute to the training of researchers [48].
There are several registries for stem cell lines operating
in Europe, and this chapter will provide the overview of
each of them.