§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has commissioned into xenotransplantation; and if he will make a statement. [88941]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Medical Research Council (MRC), which receives its grant in aid from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, is currently funding two projects related to xenotransplantation
Germ-line modification of pig organs for human transplantation" being conducted by the BBSRC Babraham Institute.Endogenous retroviruses of pigs and xenotransplantation" being conducted by the Institute of Cancer Research and the MRC National Institute for Medical Research.The Department is directly funding a further project:
An investigation into the ability of porcine endogenous retroviruses to infect animals other than pigs" being conducted by the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research.The Department is in the process of commissioning two systematic reviews of the published literature covering xenotransplantation. The first review will be looking at physiology, immunology and infection issues; the second covering legal and ethical issues. The reviews, which are expected to take around twelve months to complete, will help to highlight those areas where further research would be beneficial. Recommendations for further research are also included in the recently published United Kingdom Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority report of the workshop on porcine endogenous retroviruses.