Download The Disadvantages of Xenotransplantation

The Disadvantages of Xenotransplantation
While some look at using animals for organ transplant as a benefit, others look
at it through different eyes. The most common issue of principle is that xenografting
could be seen as doing something”unnatural.” As viewed by some, the thought of
putting a pig’s organ into a human being is artificial and a violation of the natural order.
The idea of theological issues also comes into play considering that the intermingling of
distinct plant or animal kinds by cross breeding are specifically forbidden in the Hebrew
Bible in Lev.19: 19. Therefore, Christians and some other religions would argue that the
biological intermingling of human and animals is thus strictly condemned. Questions,
such as “Is the heart special?,” also are considered. Because the heart has long been
seen as a person’s foundation of emotions, some people don’t think that it can be
removed and replaced with an animal’s.
The most common of all the objections is the intuitive repulsion or to put it
mildly, “the Yuk Factor.” Just the idea of adding a pig part to their body is enough to
make them reject the idea. Plus the animals must be free of specific pathogens or else
they might transfer it to its human counterpart.
The biggest objection to these transplants has got to be concern about the well
being of the animals that are being used for organs. To them, it seems unfair to take
the life of an animal in order to save a person’s life. Especially when the failure rate is
so high.
Besides the moral disadvantages to xenografting there are also many scientific
problems too. The main one being the human rejection of the animal’s organ. As with
any object that enters a person, the body recognizes it as foreign. This initial response
is known as “hyperacute rejection.” And it poses quite a problem as the immune system
charges into overdrive and produces an attack that makes the newly transplanted organ
useless. Besides battling hyperacute rejection the organ also has to deal with other
immune system warriors, such as the white blood cells or lymphocytes. In an effort to
deal with the rejection scientist are exploring the use of immunosuppressant drugs,
however, the immune system is already so weak and susceptible to diseases that they
are looking for alternative methods.
Due to the unpredictability and newness of xenotransplants, scientists are still
unsure of the effects on humans. Another possible risk to transplant recipients is the
chance of receiving an infectious illness or a viral infection from the animal whose organ
they were given. Although screening can reduce the threat, many diseases harmful to
humans may be undetectable and harmless in their animal host. Some of the
transferable diseases include hepatitis and AIDS. An even greater danger of interspecies transfer of diseases may come from “retroviruses” which always incorporate
themselves into the DNA of their hosts.