Download Xenotransplantation

By: Marshall Lenko
What is Xenotransplantation?
 The transfer of living cells, tissues, or
organs from non-human animals species
into humans.
 Can be human to non-human animals or
between any 2 species.
Examples of Xenotransplantation
 Combining parts of different species dates
back to Greek lore of 3000 years ago in
the forms of centaurs (half man half horse)
and the chimera (a mixture of goat, lion,
and serpent).
Modern Day Examples of
Xenotransplantation
 In 1682 a Russian physician repaired a
man’s skull with the bone of a dog.
 In 1905 a French surgeon used slices of
rabbit kidney to treat a child suffering from
kidney failure, this was the first time
doctors had grafted tissues from animals
to humans.
Modern Day Examples of
Xenotransplantation (contd.)
 December 14th 1995 a baboon’s bone
marrow is transplanted into a man to help
with his HIV.
 Fetal calf adrenal cells are implanted in
the spinal cord space of a woman for pain
relief in end stage cancer.
 Pig pancreatic islet cells are implanted for
treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes
mellitus.
Potential Risks
 Zoonoses are diseases from animals that
can be transmitted to humans under
natural conditions.
 A xenogenic infection is a transmissible
disease introduced from animals into
humans.
 A virus that does not cause disease in its
animal host may cause a serious disease
or even death in a human.
Potential Risks (contd.)
 Many failures of xenotransplantation are
caused by the constant destruction of
animal organs by a human’s immune
system.
 Researchers reported that pig retroviruses
can multiply in the human kidneys.
 Viruses that can hide themselves for years
until it is too late to be cured can develope.
Reasons For
 There is a worldwide shortage of organs
for transplantation.
 Between 1990 and 1995 an average of
4835 people each year donated organs
after death.
 ~48,000 people are on the waiting list for
organs.
 ~3000 people die each year because
organ donors can’t be found in time.
Reasons For (contd.)
 Cellular transplants could provide treatment for
people with diabetes, Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s.
 Tissue transplants could include skin grafts for
burn victims, corneal transplants for the virtually
impaired, and bone transplants for
reconstructing limbs.
 Organ transplants could include whole hearts,
lungs, livers, kidneys, or pancreases.
Protecting the General Public
 To guard against potential animal to
human infection there are 4 major areas
that are recommended as guidelines.
 “Procedures must be developed in order to
screen source animals for presence of
infectious organisms.”
 “Continued surveillance of patients and
periodic surveillances of their families,
health care worker, and others to check for
evidence of infectious disease.”
 “ An establishment of tissue banks
containing tissue and blood samples from
source animals and patients should be
created.”
 “ There should be an establishment of
national and local registries of patients that
have received xenotransplants.”
Picture References
 http://immunologybmed19005.files.wordpress.com/2009/
08/transplant_monkey008.jpg
 http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/10500/CentaurArnold--10853.jpg
 http://www.virtualworldlets.net/Resources/Hosted/Chimer
a/chimeracol.jpg
 http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorize
d/2007/04/13/xenotransplant2.jpg
Works Cited
 Xenotransplantation. Retrieved November 28th 2009 from




http://www.hc0sc.gc.ca/sr-sr/biotech/about-apropos/xeno-eng.php
Fact Sheet on Xenotransplantation. Retrieved November 30th 2009
from http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/transplant/html/fda.htm
Xenotransplantation. Retrieved November 30th 2009 from
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f01/web2/aryoni.html
Ethics of Neural Xenotransplantation. Retrieved November 30th
2009 from
http://biomed.brown.edu/courses/BI108/BI108_1999_Groups/Neurot
ransplant_Team/Ethics/ethics.html
The Disadvantages of Xenotransplantation. Retrieved November
30th 2009 from http://fbox.vt.edu/users/dhay/disadvantages.html