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Article: FDA Sets Animal-Human Transplant Guidelines; Rules Would Govern Variety of Therapies
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 21, 1996
- Author:
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The Food and Drug Administration yesterday issued the first
federal guidelines for the promising yet risky field of
transplanting animal tissue into humans.
The proposed guidelines cover a broad range of therapies, from
whole-organ procedures like the famous 1984 "Baby Fae" baboon heart
transplant to less-known but potentially valuable treatments for
diabetes and other ailments using modified cells from cattle, pigs
and other animals.
The logic behind "xenotransplantation" has long appealed to
the medical community. Thousands of Americans die each year awaiting
organs because there are about 50,000 needy patients and only 5,000
donors. If the supply pool could be expanded to include ...