CAMPAIGNERS took to the streets of Preston this week to protest about pigs' organs being used as spare parts for humans.

Uncaged Campaigns is urging people to sign a petition to stop so-called xenotransplantation which, it claims, is unethical and a danger to public health.

The anti-vivisection pressure group says it is fighting to save the lives of both animals and people, claiming there is a real danger to health, perhaps even through AIDS and CJD - the human equivalent of BSE.

Campaigner Angela Roberts said: "People on waiting lists for operations are going to have their hopes raised and it isn't going to come to fruition."

The group is distributing 10,000 organ donor cards around Britain to try and boost the supply of human organs for transplantation.

The Government gave the green light to pig-human transplants last month. But it has put a temporary ban on transplants until risks from transferring viruses are better understood.

Campaigners say this will lead to more animal experiments and believe there are better ways of dealing with organ shortages, such as the wider use of donor cards.

Campaigner Dan Lyons said: "The real way to help humans is not to be cruel to animals but to work for ways of dealing with illness and disease."

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