International Seminar On Ethical And Juridical Problems Of Transplantology To Open In Moscow

The seminar "Ethical and Juridical Problems of Transplantology", organized together with the Council of Europe, will be held in Moscow on December 4-5 at the premises of transplantology and artificial organs research institute of the Russian health care ministry. RIA Novosti received this information at the press and information department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Russian foreign policy department pointed out that the aim of the seminar is to acquaint the Russian public with a new document of the Council of Europe -- An Additional Protocol to the Convention "On Human Rights and Biomedicine". The protocol develops and specifies the juridical provisions of the Convention pertaining to the transplantation of human organs and tissues. The participants in the seminar will discuss ethical and legal aspects of xenografting (the transplantation to man of animals' organs, tissues and cells). The bioethics committee of the Council of Europe is now working out a document to regulate studies in this sphere. Taking part in the work of the seminar will be experts of the Council of Europe from Great Britain, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. The transplantology research institute is the leading Russian centre for transplantation of human organs and tissues. Outstanding surgeon, academician Valery Shumakov, whose 70th jubilee was marked on November 9, 2001, has been heading the institute since the time he created it.