§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of(a) the ethics and (b) the virological dangers of xenotransplantation;
(2) what research has been undertaken into xenotransplantation and the breeding of baboons; and if she will place copies in the Library.
§ Mr. SackvilleTransplanting organs from animals into human beings has been attempted in some countries but not in the United Kingdom. In 1992 two attempts were made in the United States to transplant organs from baboons into human beings, but both human patients died following immunological rejection.
80WThe Department of Health and the Medical Royal Colleges are watching developments and will scrutinise closely any proposed research of this subject. Additionally any proposed research involving national health service patients would have to be referred to the appropriate local research ethics committee.
Neither the Department of Health nor the Medical Research Council has any reports or published evidence of research into xenotransplantation and the breeding of baboons.
Organ transplantation has developed cautiously and responsibly in the United Kingdom. I am confident that this will continue.