Personal and social effects of xenotransplantation

9.1 A health care system is part of a wider social order. Developments in health care cannot, therefore, be separated from their social context and the broader effects they may have. It is difficult to predict how social attitudes and institutions will respond to xenotransplantation, should it become introduced as a clinical treatment. It is important to consider what these responses might be, however, even if there is, inevitably, an element of speculation involved. In this chapter, therefore, the broader social implications of xenotransplantation are considered.