Xenotransplantation - Nuffield Council on Bioethics

Preface
The principal conclusions and recommendations are these:
there is a prospect that xenotransplantation may be able to supplement
significantly the present inadequate supply of human organs - both to save
life and to improve the quality of life; but complex questions of ethics and
serious problems of safety need to be resolved;
in view of the potential benefit to patients, whose needs cannot at present be
effectively met in other ways, the breeding of pigs to supply organs for
xenotransplantation would be ethically justified. There are strong reasons for
using pigs rather than higher primates for this purpose;
there is an immediate need to establish an Advisory Committee on
<strong>Xenotransplantation</strong> for the purpose of assessing the potential public health
risks from infectious organisms of animals; establishing the essential
precautionary measures prior to any clinical human trials; and protecting the
interests of the patients who receive xenografts;
once all the necessary safeguards have been set in place, xenotransplantation
may be offered to suitable patients. Strict ethical procedures relating to
consent should be followed, and patients unwilling to consent to
xenotransplantation should not be disadvantaged in any way. Should
xenotransplantation become introduced into clinical practice, its impact on
individual patients should be the subject of research.
The <strong>Council</strong> hopes that the conclusions and recommendations of this report will be fully
considered by the Government, and by the professional and other bodies and the commercial
organisations concerned. There remains an urgent need to increase the scale of donation of
human organs; but, even if that were achieved, a safe and acceptable programme of
xenotransplantation may be of great value in the benefit it could offer to many additional
patients. To that end it is hoped that the report will stimulate immediate and wide public
interest and discussion.
Rt Hon Sir Patrick Nairne GCB MC
Chairman
<strong>Nuffield</strong> <strong>Council</strong> on Bioethics
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