Are animal-to-human transplantation clinical trials permitted elsewhere in the world?
Yes. Many countries have decided to allow animal-to-human transplantation clinical trials. Included in this list is New Zealand, USA, Mexico, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Malaysia, Ukraine, Sweden, France, Italy and China. NHMRC is aware of two clinical trials involving animal-to-human transplantation currently underway outside Australia. One is in Russia and the other is in New Zealand. Both trials involve the transplantation of DIABECELL into consenting patients with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes. DIABECELL is a pancreatic product containing insulin producing (islet) cells harvested from pigs specifically bred for this purpose. The purpose of the cells is to release insulin into the patients body in response to elevated glucose levels. The cells are surrounded by a capsule to protect it from the patients immune system and prevent the patients body rejecting the transplant. In other clinical trials (performed outside Australia) researchers have transplanted pig nerve cells into c
