RT Article
T1 Existing Ethical Tensions in Xenotransplantation
JF Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics
VO 31
IS 3
SP 355
OP 367
A1 Johnson, L. Syd M.
LA English
PB Cambridge Univ. Press
YR 2022
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1827973528
AB The genetic modification of pigs as a source of transplantable organs is one of several possible solutions to the chronic organ shortage. This paper describes existing ethical tensions in xenotransplantation (XTx) that argue against pursuing it. Recommendations for lifelong infectious disease surveillance and notification of close contacts of recipients are in tension with the rights of human research subjects. Parental/guardian consent for pediatric xenograft recipients is in tension with a child’s right to an open future. Individual consent to transplant is in tension with public health threats that include zoonotic diseases. XTx amplifies concerns about justice in organ transplantation and could exacerbate existing inequities. The prevention of infectious disease in source animals is in tension with the best practices of animal care and animal welfare, requiring isolation, ethologically inappropriate housing, and invasive reproductive procedures that would severely impact the well-being of intelligent social creatures like pigs.
K1 animal well-being
K1 research ethics
K1 Covid-19
K1 zoonotic disease
K1 xenotransplantation
DO 10.1017/S0963180121001055