UK Secretary of State for Health Stephen Dorrell announced on January 16an effective ban on xenotransplantation, specifically the transplant of animal tissue into humans, while safety and ethical issues are assessed. The announcement came as a blow to Cambridge firm Imutran, which has been trying to get the go-ahead to transplant its genetically-modified pig hearts into patients. The company had hoped to conduct the first operations sometime in 1996 (Marketletter September 19, 1995), but was held back as it awaited the Report of the Advisory Group on the Ethics of Xenotransplantation, which was presented to Ministers in late-summer 1996, and the government's response.
The report raises many ethical questions about xenotransplantation, primarily relating to the hazard of transmitting animal diseases to patients and concerns about animal welfare. Because the government does not feel that these questions have been answered adequately by those seeking to perform the transplants, it has followed the report's recommendation that "a National Standing Committee be established to supervise developments...and bring xenotransplantation under regulatory control."
Mr Dorrell said that he was accepting the group's recommendations, and will establish a body, the UK Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority, to be chaired by Lord Habgood of Calverton, "which will regulate these developments until there is a suitable opportunity for primary legislation." The response has a three-month consultation period. Mr Dorrell also announced outlines of the regulatory system which the government is introducing for xenotransplantation. More details will be reported in next week's issue.
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