What steps would be taken to minimise the risks from xenotransplantation?
If animal-to-human trial were allowed in Australia, animals would be bred in compliance with strict policies and testing the donor tissue for bacteria, viruses and disease would be mandatory. Although most pigs carry PERV, there are strains of pigs that do not carry the virus. Researchers are likely to use these strains (or breed others) for animal-to-human transplantation to further reduce the risk of infection in the recipient. Animal-to-human trials will not be permitted unless there is an appropriate infection control policy in the hospital where the transplant is taking place, to prevent transmission of infections from the xenotransplant recipient to hospital contacts. In addition, because the long-term consequences of xenotransplantation will not be fully understood for some years, anyone transplanted with cells, tissues or organs from another species will need to be carefully monitored. Therefore, anyone receiving a transplant would be informed about the potential infectious dis
