In the same week as we read Dolly the sheep, the first cloned animal bred by science, is suffering from acute arthritis in her hip and leg - a condition the scientists involved admit may be a result of the very process of cloning - we read triumphant reports that the first "successful" litter of cloned piglets have been produced.

The piglets are hailed as the first in the process that will provide donor organs for transplantation into human beings.

The scientists themselves have revealed they do not have all the answers to the problems of deadly trans-species viruses, which will doubtless need massive cocktails of drugs for any patients daft enough to allow themselves to be used in such organ transplant schemes.

The medical world says the use of animal organs is needed to make up the 30 per cent shortfall in human donor organs.

The bottom line is, if people want donor transplantation they should put their organs where their mouths are and, rather than turning to science - which is not only dangerous but also relies on the exploitation of perfectly innocent animals - should instead all carry donor cards and be prepared for their own organs to be used to save the lives of other humans.

-Norman Rayner, Crabtree Lane, Lancing