Transcript AnimalEthics060801 - Center for Ethics of Science and

Ethical Issues in the Use of
Animals in
Xenotransplantation
Rui-Peng LEI
Center for Bioethics
Central China University
of Science & Technology
Wuhan, China
About Xeno-transplantation Research
• The state of art of research
• Two major problems in research
 immune rejection– hyper acute rejection
 cross-species infection
• Preclinical and clinical research in China
 establishing animal models
 cell transplantation trials
 three study sites in China (Tianjin, Wuhan,
Chengdu)
Ethical Issues in
Xenotransplantation Research
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Individual liberty vs. public good
The complexity of informed consent
Animal welfare issue
Personal and human identity
Distributive justice in health resource
allocation
Outline of Animal Welfare Issue
• Whether as a matter of principle, it is
considered to be morally acceptable to
use animals as organ or tissue source for
humans.
• The ethical acceptability of the use of
primates to supply transplant material.
• The ethical issues raised by the use of
genetically modified animals to provide
organs for xenotransplantation
Animal Welfare Issue-1
• The animals are not only experimental
subjects but also organ or tissue donors
of human beings in xenotransplantation.
• The tenable justification: the balance of
animal suffering and human benefit.
• The saving of human life may justify a
certain amount of animal suffering.
Animal Welfare Issue-1
• In current xenotransplantation research,
animal suffering and sacrifice can’t
warrant human benefit, even do more
harm.
• When animal suffering is severe but
human benefit is obscure or uncertain, it
is not morally acceptable to rush into
immature clinical trials.
Animal Welfare Issue-2
• Is the higher primates’ revolutionary
relatedness to human being morally
relevant?
• The higher primates share capacities of
intelligence and complex social
interactions with human beings to some
extent.
• The likeness between human beings and
primates in a biological sense is the
fundamental moral judgement.
Animal Welfare Issue-2
• Some primates are endangered species,
establishing breeding colonies would
require the capture of large numbers of
wild animals.
• The safety of the use of primate organs
and tissues must also be considered.
• Which one is more fundamental for moral
judgement, animals’ genetic relatedness to
human being or their relationship with us?
Animal Welfare Issue-3
• Which genetic technology, knocking out a
certain gene in pig genome or producing
transgenic pigs to overcome immune
rejection, is morally justifiable?
• The transfer of genetic material between
humans and pigs raises ethical concerns
about “what we are” and “where we are
on revolutionary scale”.
In Chinese Cultural Context
• The universe and all of its inhabitants (humans,
animals, plants and non-living things) are
composed of qi, a physico-psychological entity
with capacity for creation, change and
transformation, which has two basic forms, yin
and yang.
• Humans, animals, plants and nature as a whole
are in a close interrelation, mutual dependence
and interaction. The well-being of these
inhabitants and of nature as a whole is
dependent upon the equilibrium between yin
and yang.
In Chinese Cultural Context
• Human nature (intrinsic worth) is the most
valuable, compared with heaven, earth, plants,
animals. (Confucius) Human beings are of
higher order than animals.
• The method of practicing ren is analogy and
from near to far. (Confucius) “Seeing the other
the same as oneself and greeting each other to
express care.” (Zeng Zi) From parents/siblings
to other relatives, friends, co-workers,
neighbours, patients, students etc, from present
generation to future generation, from human
beings to other animals, plants and eco-system
or nature as a whole.
In Chinese Cultural Context
• Human beings are not separate from
nature but a small part of the natural
world. Human beings should not seek to
dominate nature but should instead stand
in a relationship of care and concern for
its continued flourishing. (Taoism)
In Chinese Cultural Context
• Buddhism emphasizes simple, non-violent,
gentle living. It recognizes that all
animals and humans are spiritual entities
to be treated with loving kindness. In the
well-known Five Precepts, the first one
involves abstention from injury to life,
and not depriving a living being of life.
Guidelines and Regulations in China
• Regulations on Laboratory Animals,
issued by National Committee of Science
& Technology in 1988.
• Regulations on Experimental Animals in
Medical Research, issued by Ministry of
Health in June, 2004.
Guidelines and Regulations in China
• 8 chapters, 35 clauses with elaboration
• It covers: the way animals are produced
and subsequently bred, establishing
breeding colonies of disease free animals,
the husbandry and care of animals, the
use and quarantine of animals,
professional competence, licensing and
quality control of animals.
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