A British biotechnology company is hoping to begin xenotransplantation trials within a year. Cambridge-based Imutran is holding talks with transplant clinics including one at Harefield hospital. Harefield has cut its transplant programme for hearts and lungs from a peak of 202 operations in 1989 to about 130 last year.
The United Kingdom Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority (UKXIRA) is currently preparing to release proposed new guidelines for the procedure - including a ban on recipients of animal organs having children and rules governing the welfare of animals bred for transplants.
Paul Herrling, head of global research at Novartis which owns Imutran, said the firm faced intense competition to be the first to successfully establish the practice as a safe procedure.
It has emerged that two other companies have applied to the Department of Health for permission to conduct trials, although these would involve genetically modified tissues rather than organs. Genzyme, a US firm, wants to inject the brain cells of pig fetuses into the brains of people who lack dopamine. This could provide a treatment for Parkinson's sufferers.
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First humans set for animal transplants
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