§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 July 2000,Official Report, column 538W, on xenotransplantation, 891W what happened to those primates who were not euthanased; and if he will make a statement. [132081]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienXenotransplantation includes the transplantation of organs, such as hearts and kidneys, between different animal species and from animals into humans. Organ transplantation is a hugely successful medical procedure—one that has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people across the world. The critical shortage of human donor organs has led scientists to investigate xenotransplantation as an alternative potential source of organs. This is a policy on which the Department of Health leads.
As I indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend on 11 July 2000, Official Report, column 538W, almost all of the primates used in xenotransplantation research in the years 1995 to 1999 were euthanased. The majority were killed when they began to show clinical or biomedical evidence of terminal organ failure or when their clinical condition began to give rise to concern and some were euthanased when the procedure reached its pre-determined time point for completion. I understand that a small number of animals died unexpectedly before reaching the planned end point of the xenotransplantation procedure.