Animal to human transplants: the ethics of xenotransplantation (2).

This article is the concluding part of the discussion of ethical issues around xenotransplantation which was commenced in the May issue of the journal. Very little discussion has been published in the professional press on this topic. The message of the articles is that it behoves us to think about these issues before commencing such a new course.

Animal to human transplants: the ethics of xenotransplantation (1).

There now exists, potentially, the scientific and medical knowledge to transplant animal organs into humans, a procedure called xenotransplantation. The rationale behind the idea is that demand for transplanted human organs far exceeds supply. For this reason, alternative methods have been sought. The use of animals is seen as one way to deal with the problem.