Xenotransplantation involves the use of live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source transplanted or implanted into a human or used for ex vivo contact with human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that are subsequently given to a human recipient. Interest in xenotransplantation has been renewed by the continuing, critical shortage of donated human organs and by advances in immunology and in the biology of organ and tissue rejection. Xenotransplantation holds potential for the treatment of a wide range of conditions and disorders, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, intractable pain, and other diseases involving tissue destruction and organ failure. However, xenotransplantation research also poses certain challenges with respect to the potential for transmission of infectious agents from animal donors to human recipients.

Public awareness and understanding of xenotransplantation is vital because the infectious disease risks posed by xenotransplantation could extend beyond the individual patient to the public at large. In addition to these safety issues, a number of individuals and groups have raised concerns about the implications of xenotransplantation for human rights, community interest and consent, social equity in access to novel biotechnologies, allocation of human allografts, and animal welfare. For all of these reasons, scientific review of and public discourse on xenotransplantation research are critical and necessary.

Because of this, the Secretary of Health and Human Services has established the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Xenotransplantation (SACX) to provide a forum for the discussion of, and public input on, these and other relevant issues.