ABSTRACT
Occasional attempts have been made since the beginning of the century to transplant animal organs and tissue into humans, but with little success. The Report begins by exploring various ways of overcoming the shortage of organs. It mentions a number of changes that would probably increase the supply of human organs to some extent, but remarks that some of the suggestions, such as a system of presumed rather than explicit consent to organ transplantation, are morally controversial and that, even if successful, such measures would fall a long way short of meeting the demand. The upshot of the Report is that the development of xenotransplantation should continue subject to rigorous regulation to protect the interests of both the animals and humans involved. The Report notices the tendency in recent times to assign a higher moral status to animals than has hitherto been the case, and refers to two distinct philosophical approaches that may be used to support this tendency.
