A planned diabetes treatment trial in the Cook Islands involving the transplant of pig tissue into humans has been strongly condemned by an international medical group.
The group accused New Zealand company Diatranz Ltd of trying to avoid safeguards by approaching the Cook Islands government to test the treatment, in which pig pancreatic tissue is transplanted into humans. The trial has been banned in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s ministry of health released a letter from the International Xenotransplantation Association’s president-elect, Tony d’Apice of the Immunology Research Centre at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital to Health Minister Annette King. The letter said the group had been opposed to a similar trial in Mexico and was ”even more forcefully” opposed to the Cook Islands trial. The letter said studies on benefits to the patient were inadequate and did not counterbalance the potential risks involved.
”I cannot imagine that the Cook Islands have the sophisticated virology facilities needed for monitoring for pig viruses, bacteria etc, which might infect humans,” d’Apice wrote.
In a statement, New Zealand’s Ministry of Health chief adviser on regulation and safety, Bob Boyd, said the association had a keen interest in the success of transplantation and would not have written the letter unless it thought there was good reason.
”There needs to be substantially more informed debate than there has been to date, and it should involve wider views than those who stand to benefit if the research leads to future benefit for diabetics,” he said. – Sapa
Wednesday February 27, 2002