Human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models inherit donor-specific variation, affecting experimental outcomes and generalizability. While diversity is widely discussed in biomedical research and extensively theorized in genomics, comparable guidance remains limited in hiPSC research. In response, this paper extends genomics frameworks to provide stem cell-specific recommendations for describing and reporting diversity and introduces a decision framework based on four criteria (experimental purpose, biological plausibility, platform readiness, and statistical power) to determine when and how diversity should be incorporated in hiPSC-based research. The overall goal is to establish a shared basis for transparent and reproducible diversity-related design and reporting.
Weidema et al. (Sun,) studied this question.