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ENCOURAGING NEWS ON HUMANE RESEARCH Animal Aid's long-standing campaign to end the breeding and killing of roughly 400,000 animals every year simply so that their tissues can be used for test tube studies, took an important step forward in December when we had detailed discussions with a senior Department of Health (DoH) official.
Currently, a vast amount of human tissue is needlessly destroyed. While no promises were forthcoming during our meeting, we were encouraged by the official's positive and accommodating response and now await the DoH's next move. Meanwhile, political pressure continues to build. By mid-January 98, sixty-three MPs had signed Early Day Motion no. 342 which endorses Animal Aid's campaign. This follows a full-page supporting editorial in New Scientist magazine (October 25 1997) and our 220,000 signature petition calling for government action.
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The
meeting followed last October's publication of Human Tissue: The Neglected Resource,
in which we demonstrated the broad range of support from senior hospital staff,
scientists and the general public for our two point plan: firstly that the DoH
should introduce a new donor card which people can carry to show they are willing
to donate parts of their bodies for transplants and/or for medical research
- whatever the individual's preference. And secondly, that there should be a
government-backed network of human tissue banks established, to ensure a reliable
supply of donated human material for scientists to use.
Please write to your MP, asking her/him to sign Early Day Motion number
342. Our campaign encourages the use of human tissue to replace animal tissue.
We also make it plain that we oppose all animal experiments, however they are
done and whatever the supposed justification.
