Canadian Public Wants Moratorium on Clinical Trials
As in the United States, Canadian researchers are exploring the use of pigs
as sources of organs for very ill patients, particularly those in need of
hearts and kidneys. But following an extensive public information campaign,
more than half the Canadians who had received information from experts on
xenotransplantation recommended that clinical trials be banned until
scientists could "shed more light on the risks to public health from the use
of animal cells, tissues and organs for human transplants."
The Canadian public is concerned that the risks of xenotransplantation have
not been adequately explored, according to Edna Einsiedel, a professor of
communication studies at the University of Calgary who took part in a panel
at the AAAS Annual Meeting entitled, "Animal Parts for Humans?
Xenotransplantation Science, Ethics, Policy and Publics." She noted that
members of the public were much more likely to oppose clinical trials after
they had been fully informed about the issue.
Surveys, Forums to Obtain Public’s View
In a statement distributed at the Annual Meeting, Einsiedel recounted the
extensive effort to inform members of the public and to obtain their opinions
on xenotransplantation, undertaken at the behest of the Canadian Public
Health Association. It consisted of a national public opinion survey; a
mail-in survey of stakeholders; a questionnaire that was posted to a web
site; and a series of six public forums that were held across the country.
"Among those in favor of proceeding (with clinical trials), it was
recommended that stringent and transparent legislation and regulations
covering all aspects of clinical trials should be in place," Einsiedel wrote.
"These would include procedures to ensure informed consent, stringent
research protocols, an accountability structure, and multidisciplinary ethics
committee."
Einsiedel added that the "citizen jury" thought there should be a public
education campaign about xenotransplantation. They were concerned also about
the cost of xenotransplantation: "...there was little support for redirecting
scarce health dollars to this procedure to the detriment of exploring other
alternatives to the organ shortage."
-- Coimbra Sirica
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