Your Life or Mine

'Martine Rothblatt has provided an engrossing story of the complex interaction of ethical, technical, medical, public health and individual rights issues associated with the life-saving technique of xenotransplantation. Can the procedure be designed to acceptably decrease or eliminate the possibility of transmission of infectious agents from the transplanted animal organ to the patient and from he or she to others? The author presents a formidable case in favor of these surgical advances that have the capability of providing organs to many who might otherwise die.' Baruch S. Blumberg, MD, PhD, Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1976 'Martine Rothblatt offers an intriguing solution to the dilemma of xenotransplantation. She provides a practical roadmap for using porcine organs to replace diseased hearts, livers and kidneys, without giving rise to epidemics caused by viruses that leap the species barrier via xenografts. This book will encourage scientists, clinicians, healthcare policymakers and bioethicists to incorporate xenotransplantation into medicine's armamentarium for life-threatening disease.' Sir John Vane, FRS, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1982 'The application of every scientific discovery has the potential to benefit mankind with an associated cost. This is a courageous book which addresses a major moral dilemma that emerges from progress in xenotransplantation. The author guides us through a moral maze with a sure hand and the minimum of fuss. The book is a significant and important contribution to the emerging debate between the rights to health care versus the dangers of transmitting new diseases from animals to humans.' Professor Raymond Dwek, University of Oxford, UK 'How do we balance the urgent need to save lives through xenotransplantation with the danger of introducing new communicable pathogens? Martine Rothblatt does more than just answer this critical question; she provides a compelling paradigm for confronting a broader question: how do we