Xenotransplantation
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Xenotransplantation
Subject :Science and technology
Section: Biotechnology
Context: After decades of failed attempts, last year, University of Maryland surgeons tried to save a dying man with a pig heart — and he survived for two months.
What is Xenotransplantation:
- Xenotransplantation is any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation, or infusion into a human recipient of either
- Live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or
- Human body fluids, cells, tissues, or organs that have had ex vivo (outside of the living body) contact with live non-human animal cells, tissues, or organs.
Why Pigs are popular candidates for organ transplantation.
- Pigs are increasingly becoming popular candidates for organ transplantation.
- Pigs offer advantages over primates for organ procurements, because they are easier to raise and achieve adult human size in six months.
- The pig’s anatomical and physiological parameters are similar to that of humans, and the breeding of pigs in farms is widespread and cost-effective.
Process of Xenotransplantation:
Some breakthrough in Xenotransplantation:
- In 2017, Chinese surgeons reportedly transplanted pig cornea to restore sight in a human.
- In 2020, US experts attached a genetically-altered kidney to a brain-dead person.