{"id":4783,"date":"2026-06-11T16:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/?p=4783"},"modified":"2026-06-11T16:38:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:38:24","slug":"why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/06\/11\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Why ask about public attitudes toward xenotransplantation now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Agata Pacho, Antonia J Cronin, Mustafa Al-Haboubi, Paul Boadu and Nicholas Mays<\/p>\n

The world’s first clinical trial<\/a> assessing the safety and efficacy of xenotransplantation (XT), in which kidneys from genetically modified pigs are transplanted into human recipients, is currently underway. The possibility of using whole animal organs to address the persistent global shortage of organs for transplantation has periodically reignited hopes among scientists and the public, while also remaining a source of controversy and raising ethical challenges. Public debate in the field first gained prominence in the 1980s following the widely publicised case of “Baby Fae”<\/a>, an American infant who received a baboon heart transplant. Although the transplant was ultimately unsuccessful, the event raised questions about informed consent, the morality of killing an animal to save a human life and the governance of experimental medicine involving humans. In addition, while any organ transplantation unsettles dichotomies of self and others, XT disturbs the boundaries between human and animal.<\/p>\n

XT becoming routinely available to patients in the UK remains a distant prospect. Yet, it is anticipated that XT may fundamentally reshape the field of organ transplantation. As researchers working within the Policy Innovation and Evaluation Research Unit (PIRU), we recognised the importance of being tasked by the XT Expert Subgroup to undertake a representative national survey to explore how XT is viewed by the UK public. Before XT becomes standardised through clinical practice and health care policy, we were given an opportunity to examine how members of the public engage with the issues associated with XT and, consequently, how they participate in shaping what XT becomes socially and ethically. Public discussions do not simply describe the technology and its field but they influence how those are understood, accepted or feared. Such discussions are particularly significant when they diverge from more established expert framings.<\/p>\n

Moving away from using non-human primates in the 1980s was thought to improve XT\u2019s acceptability, as primates are seen as intelligent, emotional, and physically relatable to humans. However, among our respondents, the main argument against XT centred on animal welfare, with some participants specifically noting pigs\u2019 intelligence and capacity for suffering. This suggests that XT may, perhaps unintentionally, contribute to weakening perceived ethical distinctions between humans and pigs. In turn, this may affect not only the acceptability of porcine xenograft but also broader understandings of how we cohabit the planet with other non-human animals.<\/p>\n

In our paper<\/a>, we expand on this and other themes showing how the ethics of XT emerge in response to developments in biomedical research and through public debate. Moreover, because public views are highly changeable in relation to emerging scientific knowledge and shifting social and political contexts, they should be traced over time so that they can be meaningfully considered in future XT-related policy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paper title<\/strong>: Emergent ethics of xenotransplantation: findings from a survey on public attitudes toward animal to human organ transplantation in the UK<\/a><\/p>\n

Authors<\/strong>: Agata Pacho1,2<\/sup>, Antonia J Cronin3,4<\/sup>, Mustafa Al-Haboubi1<\/sup>, Paul Boadu1<\/sup>, Nicholas Mays1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Affiliations<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Department of Health Services Research & Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine<\/li>\n
  2. Department of Sociology, Purdue University<\/li>\n
  3. Guy’s and St Thomas’, Transplant Renal and Urology Directorate, Guy’s Hospital, London, UK;<\/li>\n
  4. King’s College London, School of Immunology and Microbial Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, Guy’s Hospital, London, UK.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Competing interests<\/strong>: Authors declare no conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

    Social media accounts of post authors<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/piru-lshtm.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/agata-pacho-a1a4501a\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/nicholas-mays-24534521a\/<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Agata Pacho, Antonia J Cronin, Mustafa Al-Haboubi, Paul Boadu and Nicholas Mays The world’s first clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of xenotransplantation (XT), in which kidneys from genetically modified pigs are transplanted into human recipients, is currently underway. The possibility of using whole animal organs to address the persistent global shortage of […]<\/p>\n

    Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":503,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7970],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-transplantation"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy ask about public attitudes toward xenotransplantation now? - Journal of Medical Ethics blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/06\/11\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why ask about public attitudes toward xenotransplantation now? - Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Agata Pacho, Antonia J Cronin, Mustafa Al-Haboubi, Paul Boadu and Nicholas Mays The world’s first clinical trial assessing the safety and efficacy of xenotransplantation (XT), in which kidneys from genetically modified pigs are transplanted into human recipients, is currently underway. The possibility of using whole animal organs to address the persistent global shortage of [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/medical-ethics\/2026\/06\/11\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Journal of Medical Ethics blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T15:38:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"owenschaefer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"owenschaefer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/11\\\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/11\\\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"owenschaefer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/aed22897c55740f89c1ad1508985d1c0\"},\"headline\":\"Why ask about public attitudes toward xenotransplantation now?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-11T15:38:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/11\\\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":598,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Transplantation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/11\\\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/11\\\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/medical-ethics\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/11\\\/why-ask-about-public-attitudes-toward-xenotransplantation-now\\\/\",\"name\":\"Why ask about public attitudes toward xenotransplantation now? 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