| News From Transplant Week of July 14, 2002 / Vol. 3 No. 28 |
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Australian Panel Recommends Xenotransplant Trials Be Allowed to Proceed |
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An Australian government panel has issued draft guidelines authorizing clinical trials to proceed on transplantation of organs and cells from genetically modified pigs into humans. The National Health and Medical Research Council working group said it had concluded that the benefits of proceeding with strictly controlled trials of animal-to-human transplants (xenotransplantation) outweigh the risks. "The tentative conclusion of the working party, ahead of community consultation, is to allow clinical research to proceed cautiously under centrally administered guidelines," Dr. Kerry Breen, chairman of the working group. The draft guidelines now are open to public comment, and are expected to be hotly debated by medical, patient and animal welfare groups. The working group indicated, however, that it believes any "theoretical risk" of an animal virus crossing the species barrier can be contained. "We believe that with centralised oversight and really strict framework and guidelines that we can . . . over the next few years put our toe in the water safely," Breen said. Other sources: Australian Media |
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