Xenotransplantation

3337 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Progress in xenotransplantation

Xenotransplantation Physicians today are faced with a growing list of patients awaiting transplants for organs that have failed, but there are not enough donors to meet these needs. Countries all over the world have a “human organ shortage” and the waiting lists for organ transplants only seem to grow longer (Melo 427). In the United States 62,000 patients needed a kidney, liver, or pancreatic transplant in the year 2001. Xenotransplantation, which refers to the transplantation of organs, cells, or tissues from animal species into human beings, has been heralded as a promising technology that will help us save more lives and lessen the dire shortage of transplantable organs. Organs from pigs, goats, monkeys, chimpanzees, and baboons have been used in xenotransplant experiments conducted so far. It promises to be a good treatment option for patients with end-stage organ failure (Williams 12). The transplant surgery could be scheduled at the patient’s convenience rather than scheduling an emergency surgery as soon as the human donor is found. Patients would be able to receive transplants when they first need them rather than having to wait until a transplant is the only remaining option that can save their lives. When transplants are conducted earlier, the patient will be stronger and have a better chance of recovering. Xenotransplantation appears to have several advantages as a medical procedure, but like any medical procedure it is not without its risks. Before we embrace xenotransplantation as yet another boon of science, we need to consider the ethical dilemmas surrounding this medical technology. History of Xenotransplantation The concept of using animal organs in human beings is not a new one. On... ... middle of paper ... ... Xenotransplantation.” Bioethics. 2001 Vol 15 Number5/6. Nelson, James Lindemann. “Transplantation through a Glass Darkly.” Hastings Center Report. Sept-Oct 1992: 6-8. [Online] http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/Transplantation.htm “The Ethical Implications of Xenotransplantation.” American Medical Association. CEJA Reports 2000-2002. [Online] http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/369/ceja_report_113.pdf Veatch, Robert M. The Basics of Bioethics. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. Williams, Rebecca D. “Organ Transplants from Animals.” FDA Consumer. June 1996, Vol 30 Issue 5. [Online] http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/596_xeno.html Windsor, Roger G. “Spare Body Parts from Animals.” Spectrum: The Wholistic News Magazine. Mar-Apr 1997. “Xenotransplantation.” Natural Life. Jan-Feb 2000, Issue 71. [Online] http://www.life.ca/nl/71/xeno.html

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...m these advancements that are from human body parts. Instead, it is imperative to honor and preserve those who have made these interventions possible

    Read More

  • Attention Getter Of Organ Transplants

    643 Words  | 2 Pages

    Attention Getter: A week and a half ago, there was a news article reporting that Dr. Bud Frazier was being honored for performing the most heart transplants nationwide. Specifically, he performed 1,500 heart transplants and implanted 1,000 left ventricular assist devices. He is also the man who invented the device. Where did the remarkable research and advances begin for organ transplants in human beings, and how did it make progress?

    Read More

  • Xenotransplantation, Transgenics, and the Animal-human Boundary

    1855 Words  | 4 Pages

    The progression of modern science and technology has often challenged old, time-worn notions. Nowhere does this seem truer than in biology and medicine, as these fields have changed drastically in recent decades and also relate so closely to the actual substance of how people live. One such development is what is called xenotrans-plantation or the transplantation of organs or cells across species—particularly notable when from a non-human species into a human. The very fact that the procedure is possible is telling as regards the inherently ephemeral nature of the distinction of humans from other animals. It may be useful to first outline how xenotransplantation works, however.

    Read More

  • Therapuetic Cloning

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Farrell, Courtney. "Cloning: An Overview. By: Farrell, Courtney, Carson-Dewitt, Rosalyn, Points of View: Cloning, 2013." Ebscohost.com. Mackinvia.com, 2013. Web. 21

    Read More

  • Xenotransplantation Persuasive Speech

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the world we’re living in today, many kinds of diseases, infections, and viruses are continuously arising. At the same time, scientists are untiringly researching about how we can prevent or cure them. Unfortunately, millions of people have been affected and sick that some of their organs fail that results to the need of organ replacement. Many people have died because no organs have been available to provide the need of organ replacements. The shortage of organ replacement has been a bioethical issue since then and it seems like no solution has been available. However, due to the studies scientists have been conducting, they found the most possible answer to this issue – Xenotransplantation. It hasn’t become very popular all over the

    Read More

  • Gender Role Stereotypes In The Old Spice Commercial

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the old spice commercial, the brand is showing that men are just brainless robots and the women are just hyper-sexual individuals. The setting of the commercial is in a nightclub where women are dress in provocative clothes that come off like they are looking for sexual intention from the men. Men are

    Read More

  • The Kidney Shortage Problem

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wolfe, R., Merion, R., Roys, E., & Port, F. (2009). Trends in Organ Donation and Transplantation in the United States, 1998-2007. American Journal of Transplantation , 9, 869-878.

    Read More

  • Ethical Ethics Of Xenotransplantation

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    In America, there are currently 122,198 candidates on the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) waiting list (“OPTN”). Due to a lack of available organ donors, around 18 waiting list candidates will die every day (“OPTN”). This has prompted the development and investigation of xenotransplantation—the transplantation of animal tissue and organs to potential human candidates. Currently in its early phases of development and study, xenotransplantation is controversial for its high failure rate, with only a few cases successful. This is attributed to the human immune system rejecting those animal donated organs, thereby potentially causing immediate death to the human candidate. On the one hand, pre-clinical trials have broadened the understanding of the human immune system, as well as furthered xenotransplantation research. However, because xenotransplantation has achieved little success, opponents of the procedure argue that it is unethical to continue its practice. It is also important to note that trials often use baboons in place of humans, which presents several variables to be examined before further human trials can begin. Moreover, the potential acquisition of zoonotic infection is a serious risk that cannot be fully determined without the use of human subjects. Thus, not only will xenotransplantation require more extensive study, it will also require hundreds of animal lives, all in an effort to create nothing more than a last resort.

    Read More

  • Cloning - It’s Time for Organ Farms

    1444 Words  | 3 Pages

    Currently 70,000 Americans are on the organ waiting list and fewer than 20,000 of these people can hope to have their lives saved by human organ transplantation.1  As a result of this shortage, there has been a tremendous demand for research in alternative methods of organ transplantation.  Private companies are racing to develop these technologies with an estimated market of six billion dollars.2  Xenotransplantation, or cross-species organ transplantation, appears to be the most likely solution in the near future, and cloned pigs are the main candidates.  Pigs and humans have remarkable similarities in physiology, which along with cloning makes pigs strong possibilities for organ donors.  A controversial alternative method involves the use of genetically altered headless human beings as organ donors.  Although this method may not be developed for some years, scientists are already discussing the necessary technologies.  Whether the solution is the cloning of a pig or a human, organ farms may provide us with a solution to our ever-increasing need for donors.

    Read More

  • Essay On Xenotransplantation

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ethical issues also play a role in the selection of the solutions. Most patients perceive xenotransplantation as an acceptable alternative to transplantation of human organs in life-threatening situations provided the potential benefits outweigh any likely adverse effects on the animals. Xenotransplantation of organs from chimpanzees and baboons has been avoided, because of ethical concerns as chimpanzees are listed as endangered species and the fear of transmission of deadly viruses. Pigs are plentiful, quick to mature, breed well in captivity, have large litters, and have vital organs roughly comparable in size to those of humans. Further there are physiologic similarities between their antibodies to human antibodies, and also since they are already being used in the consumer market, organs have been mainly harvested from pigs. Humans have had prolonged and close contact with pigs, their use for the purpose of xenotransplantation is believed to be less likely to introduce any new infectious agents. Porcine islet cells of Langerhans have been injected into patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Porcine skin has been grafted onto burn patients, and pig neuronal cells have been transplanted into patients with Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease.

    Read More

  • The Cons of Animal Testing

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Millions of animals are used to test consumer products, but they also become victims to experiments for medical research. In The Ethics of Animal Research (2007) both authors state that there have been many medical advances with the development of medicines and treatments as a result of research conducted on animals (para 1). These medical i...

    Read More

  • The History of Organ Donation and Transplantation

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nadiminti, H. (2005) Organ Transplantation: A dream of the past, a reality of the present, an ethical Challenge for the future. Retrieved February 12, 2014 from http://virtualmentor.ama-assn.org/2005/09/fred1-0509.html

    Read More

  • Animal Research and Testing, Is it Ethical?

    2169 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Transplanting animal organs into humans is feasible.” USA Today. November 1999: 54-55. Gehlsen, Gale M., Ganion, Larry R. and Robert Helfst.

    Read More

  • How Birth Order Affects One’s Personality

    1316 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone in the world is born with a special and unique character. Some of their personality is shaped by their surroundings as they grow up as well as the factor of genetics. It is believed by some psychologists/researchers that birth order has a tendency to influence parts of the personality. Birth order isn’t a simplistic 1-2-3 system that says all first borns are equally one way, all second children are another and last-born kids are always just like this or that. These are simply tendencies and general characteristics that often apply. There are dynamics with families that can change relationships. Through your position in the family you develop your behavior pattern, way of thinking and emotional response. Your birth order helps determine your expectations, your strategies for dealing with people and your weaknesses.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Animal Testing

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ll human organs and the systems that they belong to. "This would be the most revolutionary type of alternative, especially for human related experiments"().

    Read More

More about Xenotransplantation

Open Document