One week till end of Xenotransplantation dialogue

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

One week count down till end of dialogue on Xenotransplantation – Animal to Human Transplantation

New Zealand now has only one week left to have a say on xenotransplantation – animal-to-human transplantation – as the online forum and written submissions process of the Bioethics Council’s public dialogue comes to a close on 20 May 2005.

“We’re encouraging New Zealanders to give xenotransplantation a final burst of attention – it is their chance to have a say and help decide on this important subject,” says Martin Wilkinson, chair of the Bioethics Council’s xenotransplantation working group.

Overall, we’ve seen good participation in the dialogue discussions to date. Participants have thoroughly explored the issues from cultural, ethical and spiritual perspectives, sharing at a deep and quite personal level. It has been interesting to hear the different views of New Zealanders and, while xenotransplantation has a number of aspects, people have fundamentally understood its implications – both in terms of its potential to do good, and bad,” says Wilkinson.

“All dialogue events are now complete, bar one. Monday will see the last event take place in the West Coast. This is a special multi-site dialogue where four communities will link using web and teleconference technology. It is the first, and only, multi-site dialogue being undertaken by the Council and it will be interesting to see how the format works – it may be adopted again in the future,” says Wilkinson.

After the completion of the dialogue programme, the Council will draft a report that describes the views expressed to the Council. It will also state the Council’s own position after reflecting on what it has learnt through the dialogue programme and its own research. This report is expected to be released in late August.

For more information visit HYPERLINK "http://www.bioethics.org.nz" www.bioethics.org.nz

ENDS

Dialogue Information:
Visit the website for background information and links to more detailed research: HYPERLINK "http://www.bioethics.org.nz" www.bioethics.org.nz
Join the online discussion forum at HYPERLINK "http://www.bioethics.org.nz/dialogue/forum/" www.bioethics.org.nz/dialogue/forum/
Make a submission by mail, email or online (there is a submission form on our website).
Get together with whanau, friends or workmates and have a discussion. We want people thinking and talking about these topics, even if you do not end up writing anything down. Our website has links to ideas on running dialogue groups.

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