EU Health Ministers back Directive on use of tissue and cells for transplantation
Meeting in Malaga, Spain on 8 February, the EU's Health Ministers indicated their support for a Directive on the use of cells and tissues for transplantation. The initial text of such a Directive was approved on 7 February at a meeting of EC and national experts and representatives from the European Commission, also in Malaga. The text will now be examined at June's Health Council. 'This is a great success for Spain, which continues to be a European leader in the transplant field and has indicated the route now being followed by the Member States,' said Spain's Health Minister, Celia Villalobos. The Directive will aim to set high standards of safety and quality for the procurement, testing, processing, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells. At the meeting of experts on 7 February, participants agreed on the need to establish and supervise standards for the facilities, personnel and processes used in tissue procurement and banking and on the need for a system of inspection and control. The experts stated that there is a need to create a register for tissue and cell procurement, processing and distribution activities and that tissue and cell import in the EU should be controlled in order to ensure quality and safety. They prepared a draft text for the future Directive on the use of cells and tissues for transplantation, the final text of which will be finalised by the Commission before submitting its proposal. Meanwhile Pope John Paul II has warned against tampering with the 'tree of life', saying that some scientific advances may be morally unacceptable in the Roman Catholic Church. 'The achievements of medicine and biotechnology can sometimes lead man to think of himself as his own creator, and to succumb to the temptation of tampering with the tree of life,' said the Pope in his message for Lent. 'It is also worth repeating here that not everything that is technically possible is morally acceptable,' he added.
Kraje
Spain