November 20, 1962

Dr. James F. Crow

The University of Wisconsin
College of Agriculture
Madison 6, Wisconsin

Dear Jim:

As Alec will be telling you, { am very sorry to be unable to accept

the Invitation, which | do appreciate very much, to participate in

the dedication of your new buliding. § hope my good feeling and

wishes for success therein may help to make up for my absence. ri
The main thing | aa writing about now Is to get your reaction to the
position stated In the accompanying paper. | think we have had many
conversations about these themes before and while | expect | am taking
&@ somewhet more extended position than in the past, you will be able ~
to recognize it and probably continue to disagree with the relative

importance that | would attach to long-range eugenic measures. Apart

from this, | would appreciate your thoughts on the Implications of

success In homotransplantation, and what, If any, measures might be

adopted to mitigate some of the difficulties that may arise with the

achievement. it Is of course possible to argue about the premises of

how soon the technique will be perfected, but that Is perhaps another

matter. if you are willing to accept this premise, It seems to me

fairly clear that the avallabl lity of organs for transplantation will

rapidly become very restricted and place an Immense burden on the

mechanism of allocation. This could well have serlous repercussions,

not only within the medical profession in any one country, but also

as concerns the world-wide availability of such valuable material.

1 )4

The one measure that has occurred to me might be worth taking <~ apart
from the longer term primate breeding programs which probably wil!

take too long to be very effective -- is at least the registry of trans-
plantation operations so that such procedures will be conducted In a
context of careful control and reporting. it would perhaps be much
easier to establish such a registration procedure at the present time
than [t would when the moral Issues of transplantation were subject to
stronger blas. At the mament, perhaps even more Importent than any
specific suggestions, would be the kind of machinery that ought to be
set up to explore the necessary forethoughts.

Anyhow, Jim, please let me hear from you, and let your hair down!

As ever,

Joshua Lederberg

Professor of fanetice