The Vatican has issued a new document on the ethical issues involved in the transplantation of organs from animals into humans. The 20-page document, published in Italian on September 26, was produced by the Pontifical Academy for Life, under the direction of Bishop Elio Sgreccia. It comes in response to a request from the Council for Europe, which had sought ethical guidelines from the Holy See. The document notes that there are serious practical issues involved in the transplant process. Most notably, the Vatican observes, there is a need for great care to ensure that an animal virus is not passed along to vulnerable humans.
More study is needed to assess the scientific aspects of the process, the document concludes.
While emphasizing that God has given man dominion over creation, and animals can rightly be sacrificed to fill legitimate human needs, the Vatican study notes that there should be efforts to minimize the suffering that animals might undergo, and to protect the animal species from serious harm. Finally, the document explicitly condemns any form of xenotransplantation that would affect the basic identity of the human recipient. Specifically, the transplantation of brains or gonads must be excluded, the document said. The Vatican has generally encouraged organ transplants, while insisting that they must be guided by strict ethical criteria. All Rights Reserved.