ALTEX :: Alternatives to Animal Experiments

1998, VOLUME 1

Ethical Problems of Cross-Species Transplantation from Animals to Humans (Xenotransplantation)

Eve-Marie Engels

Universitaet D-Tuebingen

SUMMARY

The success of transplantation and the increasing demand for donor organs have led to an increasingly acute shortage of human organs and tissue for transplantation. In this situation, xenotransplantation is discussed as a possible alternative to allotransplantation. Cross-species transplantation however involves certains risks and ethical problems, some of which are thematized in this abstract.

Keywords: xenotransplantation; public discussion; infectious diseases; allocation problems; source animals