Animal-to-Human Transplants: the Ethics of Xenotransplantation
Regulatory Developments
UKXIRA
One of the Council’s main recommendations was to call for the Government to establish an Advisory Committee on Xenotransplantation to regulate developments in animal-to-human transplants.
In 1995 the Department of Health set up an Advisory Group on the Ethics of Xenotransplantation. The Group was chaired by Ian Kennedy, then a member, and now Chairman, of the Nuffield Council. Its report, Animal Tissue into Humans, was published in January 1997, together with a detailed government response. The main recommendations were very similar to those of the Council’s Report. The Advisory Group accepted that a National Standing Committee should be established to ensure that the issues raised were addressed and to consider the science of xenotransplantation as new evidence became available. The Government implemented the recommendation by establishing the UK Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority (UKXIRA) in 1997.
2000 Publications:
UKXIRA’s third annual report was more cautious about animal-to-human transplants. It stated that xenotransplantation of whole organs, from cloned animals, is unlikely to solve the problem of shortage of organs for transplantation in the near future, as originally thought. The report concluded that ‘uncertainty about the safety of xenotransplantation continues to be a significant obstacle.’ Additionally, the possibility that disease may be introduced into the general population by xenotransplantation cannot be ruled out on the basis of current evidence.
‘The likelihood of whole organ xenotransplantation (particularly for heart transplantation) being available within a clinically worthwhile time frame may be starting to recede.’
1999 Publications:
- Biosecurity Steering Group: draft guidance on biosecurity and animal husbandry
- Infection Surveillance Steering Group: draft report outlining concerns such as the possibility of viral transmissions occurring during pregnancy or as a result of sexual contact in recipients of xenografts.
1998 Publications:
- Guidance on Making Proposals to Conduct Xenotransplantation on Human Subjects
- Report of workshop on Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses (PERVs) in pigs, looking at distribution, their possible effects on humans and the risk of pig to human transmission
For more information: http://www.doh.gov.uk/ukxira/index.htm
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Last Updated Wed, 23 June 2004