Pig transplants postponed
- 25 January 1997
- Vol. 314 (7076) , 242
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.314.7076.242
Abstract
Britain's long awaited report on the ethics of xenotransplantation has now appeared.1 Following on from last year's report from the Nuffield bioethics committee,2 its main conclusion is that clinical trials of xenotransplantation are not appropriate at the present time as there is insufficient knowledge of the immune response to a xenograft, the physiological behaviour of a xenograft, and the risk of infection across species. Both reports conclude that it is ethical to use pigs as a source of donor tissues, provided that the pigs are well cared for, but not to use primates other than for carefully controlled research. However, in recommending that clinical trials should not yet be carried out the advisory group has taken a stronger line. Is this recommendation reasonable …Keywords
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