Ethics briefings

The new bill also seeks to introduce a distinction between medical treatment and artificial nutrition and hydration, fuelling the controversy about withdrawing or withholding life-prolonging medical treatment which has raged since the British Medical Association published guidelines last year. 4 Xenotransplantation During 1999 the UK Xenotransplantation Interim Regulatory Authority (UKXIRA) received its first applications to undertake clinical trials in xenotransplantation. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis In November 1999, after two years' work, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Advisory Committee on Genetic Testing (ACGT) issued their joint consultation document on preimplantation genetic diagnosis. 6 Although often hailed as the panacea for those at risk of serious genetic disorder- because it allows parents to begin a pregnancy knowing the child will not be affected by the disorder for which there is otherwise a risk-the document highlights the likely impediments to its widespread adoption.