Xenotransplantation - Nuffield Council on Bioethics

Table of contents
Table of contents
Members of the Working Party and terms of reference
Summary of recommendations
vi - vii
viii - x
Chapter 1 The promise and the problems 1
Transplantation in medicine 1
The demand for organs 3
Reducing the shortage of human organs 5
The promise of xenotransplantation 6
Ethical concerns 8
The importance of moral convictions 9
Chapter 2 Alternatives to xenotransplantation 13
Preventive health measures 13
Increasing the supply of human organs 14
Artificial organs and tissue 17
Bioengineered organ and tissue replacements 20
Conclusion 23
Chapter 3 <strong>Xenotransplantation</strong> : progress and prospects 25
Definition and scope of xenotransplantation 28
The immune response 28
Preventing organ rejection 29
<strong>Xenotransplantation</strong> of primate organs and tissue 30
Baboon bone marrow transplants for treating AIDS patients 31
Will primate organs function properly in human beings? 31
<strong>Xenotransplantation</strong> of pig organs and tissue 32
Hyperacute rejection 32
Other obstacles to xenotransplantation using pig organs 35
Conclusion 36
Chapter 4 Animal concerns : principles 37
The use of animals for medical purposes 37
The balance of animal suffering and human benefit 38
Animal rights 39
Self-awareness and personhood 39
Speciesism and the moral community 41
Relationships 42
Attitudes to nature 43
Conscientious objections to the use of animals for medical purposes 44
The use of animals for medical purposes: conclusions 45
Concerns about the use of primates for xenotransplantation 46
The use of pigs for xenotransplantation 52
The use of transgenic animals for xenotransplantation 52
Chapter 5 Animal concerns : practice 57
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 57
The care of primates 59
The production and care of transgenic pigs 60
The production of transgenic pigs free from infectious organisms 63
The removal of organs and tissue from animals 64
Conclusion 66
iv