GIFT OF LIFE
The Humane Research Donor Card
When, in February 1991, we launched our Humane Research
Donor Card (HRDC) - a far-sighted initiative to make better use of surplus human
tissue for medical research as an alternative to animal experiments - the public
responded with massive enthusiasm: there are now 350,000 carriers of the card.
Prominent scientists also welcomed the project as being humane and scientifically
rational, although there was some, often spiteful, resistance from those with
a career investment in abusing animals. The HRDC has continued to grow and,
just recently, there have been some important, even remarkable, developments
that entirely vindicate Animal Aid's stance.
New initiatives
 In
June last year, the University of Nottingham opened a new tissue culture facility,
costing £120,000, and declared that it "will mean a move away from
traditional animal testing ... to the more ethically - sound use of donated
human cells and tissue". The University is so enthusiastic that it refers
to the 'Dawn of a New Age'.
The Medical Research Council, which welcomed the launch of the HRDC, has announced
that it is seriously considering how best to expand its range of tissue banks.
In its 1995 report, Humane tissue: Ethical and Legal Issues, the influential
Nuffield Council on Bioethics, "recommend that the Department of Health
establish a central register of tissue banks approved for supplying tissue for
medical treatment and for research", in order to "maximise the efficiency
of human supply". One reason for improving the availability of human material,
the Nuffield Council explains, is because, "The use of human tissue for
research is also seen as a way of reducing the use of animals in research".
There are reports of a major new tissue bank at the University of Leicester.
The idea is that bodies will be provided by hospitals, mainly from brain-dead
donors who have previously given consent for the use of their remains in medical
research. They are expected to be dissected either at the donor hospital or
at Leicester. According to John Moretti, spokesman for the International Institute
for the Advancement of Medicine which is setting up the facility, "I don't
think there is anyone in the UK providing the same service as we are, actively
going around obtaining tissues to help universities and pharmaceutical companies
do research". The group stress that, in line with the Nuffield Council
on Bioethics' recommendations, there will be no payment to donors, except to
cover costs of recovering, processing and dispatching tissue.
Millions of animals could be saved
Worldwide, millions of animals die as human surrogates. Yet many of these creatures
could be saved, and more reliable results achieved, if only scientists switched
to human tissue for their experiments. The tissues can be obtained from healthy
volunteers, biopsies, surgical operations and postmortem samples, and can substitute
for animals in two ways: firstly, by replacing the substantial but unknown number
of animals killed simply to provide parts of their bodies for research; and
secondly, by replacing many live animal experiments, for instance in medical
research and testing.
It is true that some tissues must be used quickly after they are removed from
the body, otherwise they lose the characteristics that were present in the living
person. But other tissues can can stored at very low temperatures until they
are needed.
Apart from saving animals, another major advantage of human tissue research
is that results are directly relevant to people: there are no worries about
misleading predictions that bedevil animal experiments. As one researcher explains,
"marked species differences ...provide the impetus for using human tissue".
Why we launched the card
 Despite
all its advantages, human tissue has remained a neglected and under-used resource.
Scientists cite lack of availability as their chief obstacle and it was to help
solve that problem that Animal Aid launched the HRDC in 1991. The card gives
permission for tissue to be taken from the body after death and used in medical
research. Public response was overwhelmingly positive and we were inundated
with requests for more cards and information. We received support from celebrities,
including Joanna Lumley and Sir John Gieldgud, and the scheme was backed by
many scientists.
The Research Defence Society (RDS), an organisation set up specifically to
defend animal experiments, unsurprisingly condemned the initiative, calling
Animal Aid irresponsible for launching what they called a 'bogus' or 'phoney'
donor card. So it is worth pointing out the Human Tissue Act 1961 allows people
to leave their bodies for medical research and education, provided they give
written consent. What else is the HRDC but a simple means of doing just that?
Some supporters asked whether the HRDC would conflict with the supply of organs
for transplant. It is certainly not our intention to deter holders of conventional
donor cards from leaving their organs for transplantation. Rather, we expect
to bring forward entirely new donors by appealing to the many people who do
not at present carry any form of card. Even so, the HRDC does not preclude people
from also becoming donors for organ transplantation, should they so wish, and
they can carry both types of card.
A network of tissue banks
We have always said that to achieve its full potential the HRDC needs to be
accompanied by a co-ordinated network of storage banks to prevent tissues going
to waste and to enable them to be distributed and used whenever convenient.
Although such a system exists for transplant purposes, it is a different story
when human tissue is needed for research. In fact, the issue is of such low
priority no central register is kept of the human tissue banks currently storing
material for research purposes.
With this in mind Animal Aid has been lobbying the Medical Research Council,
which already administers some specialised tissue banks, and the pharmaceutical
companies, whose activities offer enormous scope for saving animals. Much drug
research involves either searching for new medicines or investigating how they
interact with body tissues: this is pharmacology, the science of drugs. But
an analysis by one researcher at the Sandoz pharmaceutical company found that,
"Despite the limited relevance for human pharmacology of most of the animal
tissues, the use of human material in pharmacological studies is still the exception
rather than the rule".
Safer, more relevant, drugs
Human tissue tests could also improve the safety of drugs. As researchers from
the Lister Hospital point out, "any in vitro [test tube] method using human
tissue gives a degree of reassurance not provided ... by animal experiments".
Chloramphenicol, phenylbutazone, thalidomide and mianserin are examples of drugs
whose harmful effects can be detected by human tissue but were not identified
by routine animal tests. If drug companies fail to carry out human tissue tests
prior to marketing their products, then shouldn't they be financially liable
for any injuries that could have been predicted?
The next phase
With the surge of interest in human tissue research, Animal Aid feels the time
is ripe for a fresh phase of the campaign. For tissue banks to be successful
in obtaining adequate material for researchers, there must be a positive attitude
amongst the public. By promoting the HRDC, we can help achieve this: people
will realise that they will not only help medical science but save animals as
well. And by using the HRDC to publicise the advantages of human tissue, we
can stress the dangers of animal experiments and increase pressure for reform.
It is no longer enough to carry the HRDC. We must use it to educate the public
and send a clear message to the scientific community: it's time for change.
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Arrange for the HRDC to be displayed in as many places as possible,
including post offices, doctors' surgeries, veterinary clinics,
libraries, student and trade union buildings, alternative health
centres, hospital waiting rooms, solicitors' offices, pubs,
health stores and hairdressers.
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Introduce the scheme to your local media by writing letters
about the card and the merits of human tissue research; mention
it on radio phone-ins and/or suggest that your paper runs a
feature on the card. Radio stations and newspapers often have
regular medical columns or slots.
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Write to the Chief Registrar of your local hospital about the
scheme and to any universities/medical schools in your area,
addressing your letter to the head of departments which use
animals (Pharmacology, Physiology, Biochemistry etc). Include
with your letter some of our HRDC material and ask such questions
as: What sort of facilities do they have, if any, for the storage
of human tissues? Does (or could) the hospital keep a register
of intending donors of human tissue, as some institutions do
for prospective organ transplant donors?
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When people take a card it's a good idea to suggest they discuss
their wishes with their family to make sure that the card is
not disregarded or ignored. Intending donors should also contact
their local hospital and/or university medical school informing
them that they are carrying the card.
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