Non-transplanted organs can be used for research

For the first time, medical researchers are to use organs and tissues given by British organ donors, under a new scheme launched last week at Leicester University. Previously, organs for which no transplant recipient could be found were destroyed unless they could be stored, and those who needed organs for purposes other than transplant had to import them.

Several American institutions already distribute unused organs for research. One such group, the International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine, in Philadelphia, has been supplying Leicester University's tissue bank with American organs for …