Disease fear halts pig transplant work
14 August 2000
Disease fear halts pig transplant work
By FWi staff
RESEARCH on using pig organs for transplant has stopped because of the risk of deadly viruses jumping from the animals to people.
Scientists fear there could be a repetition of the BSE crisis which saw the animal virus transmitted to humans as variant CreutzfeldtJakob disease (vCJD).
The Roslin Institute — which cloned Dolly the Sheep — has called a halt to a 12.5m six year project after just two years, reports the Daily Mail.
Scientists had been working on techniques to rid pigs of certain genes so humans would not reject their organs.
But Californian firm Geron Bio-Med which owns rights to the institutes research decided to scrap the project because risks were too great.
- Organ supply raises health risk concerns, FWi, 15 March 2000
- Daily Mail 14/08/2000 page 1, 6 and 10
- The Guardian 14/08/2000 page 1
- Daily Express 14/08/2000 page 4
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