Preview

Xenotransplantation

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1180 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Xenotransplantation
With approximately 48,000 individuals on the waiting list for organ transplants and only about 4,835 people donating their organs after death each year, there are around 3,000 yearly deaths for those who do not have these organs available to the them (1). Consequently, medicine has turned to an additional yet somewhat controversial source for organ donations: animals. The term xenotransplantation is defined as "the transplantation of living organs, cells or tissue from one species to another..." (2). The obvious and primary benefit of such a procedure is increasing the number of new leases on life that medicine can issue to the thousands waiting for organ transplants. Nevertheless, a variety of ethical issues are raised by such practices, ranging from the treatment of animals to the effects of xenotransplantation in crossing the species border.
Xenotransplantation is by no means a new concept in medicine. Combining parts of different species dates back to Greek lore of over 3,000 years ago in the forms of centaurs (half man and half horse) and the Chimera (a mixture of goat, lion and serpent). In terms of medical procedures, the earliest example of combining man and animal parts was in 1682, when a Russian physician repaired a man's skull using the bone of a dog. After the turn of the 20th century, doctors began grafting tissues from animals to humans, a prime example of this being in 1905, when a French surgeon used slices of rabbit kidney to treat a child suffering from kidney failure. As exploration into xenotransplantation continued with other animals such as pigs, goats, lambs and monkeys, doctors began to notice that these transplants would fail in relatively short amounts of time, lasting for only weeks at best. It wasn't until the 1940's, when the cause for these transplantation failures, and thus the most significant setback within xenotransplantation, was identified as a crucial connection between the immune system and the rejection of a transplanted

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    The ability to keep someone alive by replacing one of their major organs is an amazing achievement of this century of medicine. Unfortunately, the current supply of transplant organs is much lower than that need or demand for them, which means that many people in the United States die every year for lack of a replacement organ. When a person gets sick because one of his or her organs is failing, an organ is damaged because of a disease or its treatment, or lastly because the organ has been damaged in an accident a doctor needs to assess whether the person is medically eligible for a transplant or not. If the person is eligible the doctor refers the patient in need of an organ to a local transplant center. If the patient turns out to be a transplant candidate a donor organ then must be found. There are two sources of donor organs. The first source is to remove the organs from a recently deceased person, which are called cadaveric organs (Potzgar, 2007). A person becomes a cadaveric organ donor by indicating that they would like to be an organ donor when they die. This decision can be expressed either on a driver’s license or in a health care directive, which in some states are legally binding contracts. The second source is from a living…

    • 2294 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Xenotransplantation refers to the study and use of animal organs as replacements for human organs. With this new breakthrough, the number of needed donors decreases. How does it work? Transplants classify as concordant or discordant. Concordant refers to a transplant of organs across a closely related species. These transplants present acceptance much easier than discordant, which refers to transplants across a diverse species (Fung, John J.). Discordant transplants bring barriers such as xenoantibodies, which are present in the recipient. Since the immune system fights off foreign antibodies, the xenoantibodies cause immediate rejection or hyper acute rejection. Although rejection presents as high, promise exists since immunosuppressant drugs exist. Chimpanzees present genes that are closest to humans, which makes them the superior donor. Due to extinction, they prelude from use. Baboons display the next closest resemblance. However, pigs, which are considered discordant, provide hope because they can be genetically modified. With the new advancements in research, the Xenotransplantation Advisory Committee creates guidelines for xenotransplantation trials as well as reviews public safety issues. Xenotransplantation entices scientist to further their research for the possibility of animals saving…

    • 1376 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Each day, an average of 79 people receive organ transplants. However, an average of 21 people die each day waiting for transplants that can't take place because of the shortage of donated organs” (The Need Is Real). There are many different views of the pros and cons that make up transplants of all kinds, from organ to bone transplants, and whether or not they should be allowed to be continued.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Almost everyone would want to be able to say, “I have saved a life.” But by becoming an organ donor, you can be able to say, “I will save a life.” Organ donation is a selfless way to give back to others, and to be able to make a huge difference by giving another person a second chance at life. Unfortunately, the number of patients waiting for organs far exceeds the number of people who have registered to become organ donors. Patients are forced to wait months, even years for a match, and far too many die before they are provided with a suitable organ. There are many stigmas related to organ donation, but most of them are relatively false, and in order to be well informed, you must know what organ donation is, how it works as well as how you can become an organ donor and what organs or tissues you can donate. Becoming an organ donor after death is not only an important decision for yourself, but it is also an important decision for the life that you may have the power to save. (Finn, Robert)…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This process has also been lead to great strides in therapeutic cloning that can be used for medicinal purposes. One popular example is xenotransplantation, an animal to human organ transplant. Pigs are interesting subjects for xenotransplantation because of their physiological similarities to humans and their ready availability, in contrast to nonhuman primates (McCabe & McCabe 219). I we are able to mass clone organisms, like pigs, this will be beneficial in having a good supply of organs to cure human diseases and abnormalities. Reproductive cloning also gives people the opportunity to genetically create an identical donor. The SCNT procedure has the capability to genetically “resurrect” a lost beloved pet. Lastly, human cloning would provide lesbian couples or single women with the opportunity to have a child without using donor sperm (BioEthics…

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As of today, organ donation has become a well-accepted medical practice by our modern society. However, the high costs of organ transplantation and the high demand of organs by infants, has been limited by the relatively small number of organs available for these children. This situation has motivated many scientists involved in the medical field to look for alternative approaches in order to supply the high demand of organs that is required year by year by a huge amount of children. Some of the sources that have been proposed as potential organ donators or sources are other animal species, human fetuses and dying children or newborns with terminal illnesses as anencephaly. All of these proposals have caused debate…

    • 3136 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Possibilities of Cloning

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Although our medical capabilities have increased rapidly in the past twenty years one of the things that it can’t do is hurry up the ever growing transplant list. 97,670 people in the United States were awaiting an organ transplant in 2008 and that number is now over 150,000. By cloning organs the majority of these patients will get the organ that will save their life. Also unlike some other projected medical methods like stem cells and mechanized organs , it is already possible to clone organs. One small setback in this potentially amazing advancement in organ transplanting the that cloning is currently illegal in most countries.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Commercialization of human organs from consenting adults will lead to an increase in the supply of organs needed for transplants (Kanniyakonil, 2005). The major challenge in hospitals is the lack of organs needed for transplantation to the increasing number of patients. Currently, organs are only accepted from victims of altruism suicide and this does not cover the medical needs throughout the world. Thus, by commercializing organs for transplants, the number of organ will increase and it will be for a good cause of saving human lives.…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Great Stem Cell Debate

    • 2373 Words
    • 10 Pages

    According to Donate life America (2009) even with all the advances in medical technology the number of organ, eye and tissue donation still falls short of the need. Did you know that 100, 000 men, women and children currently need organ transplants.? Did you also know that an average of eighteen people die each day from the lack of transplant organs. ? The following paper will discuss how researching stem cells could lead us to the mystery of what happens during cell development. How with this knowledge stem cells could be used for medical therapies. This research will also look at those who oppose this research stating that it is morally and ethically wrong because of where the stem cells come from. The following pie chart shows us the status of organ donation as mentioned above.…

    • 2373 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Organ Shortage

    • 1884 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Organ transplantation is a term that most people are familiar with. When a person develops the need for a new organ either due to an accident or disease, they receive a transplant, right? No, that 's not always right. When a person needs a new organ, they usually face a long term struggle that they may never see the end of, at least while they are alive. The demand for transplant organs is a challenging problem that many people are working to solve. Countries all over the world face the organ shortage epidemic, and they all have different laws regarding what can be done to solve it. However, no country has been able to create a successful plan without causing moral and ethical dilemmas.…

    • 1884 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is such a shortage of organ donors that new policies are becoming a huge debate between the medical professionals. Some are even debating taking organs while the patient is still alive, but brain dead. According to an article in, “The Independent Institute”, dated February 19, 2001; Doctor Alexander Tabarrock stated, “No give, no take.” He believes that only patients who donate an organ should receive an organ when needed. Donating your organs to help or save another life is the greatest gift you could ever give or…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    With organ transplants so prevalent in today’s society, it is important that the ethical issues surrounding them are fully understood. While many people want to see life extended as long as possible, there are others who believe life must be allowed to run its natural course. This literature review examines the process of organ transplantation from continuous shortages of available organs to the distribution process to the lasting effects of the transplant on the patient. The research showed that even as policies and procedures adapt to our evolving society, it is very likely there will always be disagreement on the subject of organ transplantation.…

    • 2472 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the last decade, the debate over the ethics of organ and transplant allocation has intensified and the attention sensationalized in the media. At the core of this issue, critical questions remain. They include but are not limited to those regarding economics, race, and geographic inequity and about the moral relevance and weight of geography, economics, and other disparities and inequities in transplant allocation (Stanford University, 2012). Transplant allocation raises questions regarding the four of the basic major ethical principles of medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, justice and non-maleficence. As such, bioethicists typically refer to the four principles of health care ethics in their evaluation of the merits and difficulties of medical procedures such as transplants. With regards to issue of transplant allocation, the four ethical principles can be applied to the issue in the following ways:…

    • 1032 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A current cutting edge science is xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation is the act of placing nonhuman cells, tissues, or organs in humans (7). The influencing goal behind transplanting animal parts into humans is that there are not enough vital organs for those on the waiting list for organs (7). On average, ten people die every day in the United States alone while for essential organs that will save their lives (7).…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Xenotransplantation is a procedure that is focused on the transferring of organs from one species to another. The application of this scientific technology converging human beings and animals, configures much controversy amidst the substantial benefits and detriments that xenotransplantation yields. Signifying, that through an attempt to reach an agreement on xenotransplantation’s bioethical debate, a mold of various frameworks of ethical perspectives on the topic is constructed. In this case, it is centered on religious ethics and beliefs. Employing through the wide range of criteria that arises within the science of xenotransplantation’s positive and negative functionality - the Christian and Hindu ethos can be one way of approaching the issue. The bioethics of xenotransplantation engaged through religious Hindu and Christian worldviews provide an outlook in determining whether its processes and means are a violation of animal and human integrity within their exclusive…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays