FED: Australia's ban on xenotransplantation to lapse

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2009
FED: Australia's ban on xenotransplantation to lapse

Australian scientists will soon be able to resume their research into the controversial
field of animal to human transplants.

The National Health and Medical Research Council says a five year moratorium on the
research will be allowed to lapse at the end of the year.

The controversial research was halted in 2004 following concerns that animal viruses
.. particularly pig endogenous retrovirus .. could jump the species gap to humans.

The transplant research will resume in Australia once new guidelines for researchers
and ethics committees involved in animal-to-human studies are put in place.

AAP RTV dr/ar

KEYWORD: XENOTRANSPLANTATION (SYDNEY)

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