Norway upholds xenotransplantation ban:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Norwegian government has decided to extend an existing ban on xenotransplantation until 2005. Health minister Dagfinn Hcentybraten last week said that more time was needed to examine a draft proposal for a law on xenotransplantation put forward by a specially-appointed committee in June 2001. The initial ban was imposed in 1999, to last until 2003. It was intended as a measure to offer the government time to assess risks connected with the procedure, with emphasis on transferable diseases. "At the same time [as extending the ban], the ministry of health will intensify its efforts to increase access to human transplant organs," said Mr Hcentybraten.