Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Stop and Consider
What makes pigs possible sources for organs? What problems might
there be with pig-to-human transplants?
CONNECTIONS
The shortage of suitable organs for transplantation has led to efforts
to see if animals might provide an acceptable alternate source. Despite
several attempts—some of them infamous—to use nonhuman
primates as organ donors for human patients, medical, economic,
and social issues have led researchers to look to other animals.
Recently, the pig has become the most promising species for xeno-
transplantation, although there are serious barriers to using pig
organs in people, including the risk of a severe rejection response and
the possibility of human infections with potentially dangerous
viruses. Research to solve these problems continues, but at a greatly
reduced level because of concerns about the potential for a serious
viral infection coming from the transplanted pig organ. Meanwhile,
the waiting list for organs continues to grow.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the concepts discussed in this chapter,
search the Web using the keywords:
xenotransplantation
,
transplant rejection
,
immunosuppressive drugs
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