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Here an Organ, There an Organ Paws Down! To the Australian government for lifting a ban on cross-species transplantation (xenotransplantation). According to the National Health and Medical Research Council, “Australia will lift a five year ban on animal-to-human transplant trials at the end of 2009….” News sources indicate, “The Australian moratorium was introduced in 2004 based on concerns that research in the area could prompt animal viruses, particularly pig viruses, to jump the species gap into humans. “The World Health Organization has called on countries to establish regulatory control and surveillance mechanisms before allowing xenotransplantations.” Few medical breakthroughs have ever been attributed to laboratory research on nonhuman animals. What has been learned from this tragic waste of lives is that pig organs are not always compatible with human bodies. With concerns about swine flu and other zoonotic diseases (diseases transmittable from nonhuman to human animals) current in the news today, risking cross-species transplantation is critically dangerous for both humans and animals. Take Action: Write a polite letter to the head of the National Health and Medical Research Council urging him to reinstate the ban. Warwick Anderson, CEO National Health and Medical Research Council GPO Box 1421 Canberra, ACT 2601 Telephone: 13 000 64672 or +61 2 6217900 Fax: +61 2 6217 9100 Email: nhmrc@nhmrc.gov.au Sources: www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/10/2767879.htm abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=9297800 # |