Xenotransplantation
The thought of combining parts from different species is not at all new, Greek lore of more than 3,000 years ago
featured combining part of different species. As early as 1682 a Russian physician reportedly repaired the skull of a
wounded nobleman using bone from a dog. But it was not until after the turn of the 20th century that doctors attempted
with some regularity to graft tissues from animals into humans. For instance, in 190S a French surgeon inserted slices
of rabbit kidney into a child suffering from kidney failure. "The immediate results," he wrote, "were excellent."
Nevertheless, the child died about two weeks later.
During the next two decades, several other doctors tried to transplant organs from pigs, goats, lambs and monkeys into
various patients. These grafts all soon failed, for reasons that seemed puzzling at the time. Before the pioneering
investigations at the University of London during the 1940s, physicians had little inkling of the immunologic basis of
rejection
So, with only failures to show, most doctors lost interest in transplantation. But some medical researchers persevered
it. Medical practice has since grown to include transplantation of the heart, lung, liver and pancreas. But these
accomplishments have brought tragedy with them, most people in need cannot be offered treatment. Of the tens of
thousands of patients in the U.S. every year deemed good candidates for a transplant.
Fortunately, scientists did not entirely abandon the possibility of using animal tissues in patients after human organ
transplants came into vogue. Animals to humans (xenotransplants) have been attempted experimentally using a variety
of donor animals, from frogs to baboons and pigs. Most efforts quickly failed. But doctors may soon perfect ways to
transplant organs, such as the heart, specially from pigs.
Xenotransplantation may help but there is no possibility that a person who undergo xenotransplant may live long. It is
legal though,but still I dont agree with xenotransplantation,it seems to be worth it but there is no possibility to be
successful. Many doctors,scientist attempted but the results are failure even though some are successful but the
success did not last for long.
For me Xenotransplantation is dangerous and ineffective and not a cost effective technology. It is riskier and promises
to be even more expensive than human-to-human transplantation roughly hundred thousand dollars per operation, not
including the hidden costs of breeding, housing, feeding, medicating, testing, transporting, rendering, and disposing of
the waste and remains of herds of transgenic animals. Xenotransplant researchers acknowledge that 'rearing pigs
under germ-free conditions, is extremely expensive and time-consuming and the production of germ-free pigs would
greatly add to the cost of providing donor organs.' Currently it also cost thousand to hundred thousand dollars to test
just one pig for the presence of known bacteria and viruses. A biotechnology company explains that one of its pig
organs will eventually cost the same as a human organ.
Xenotransplant proponents claim that they will breed "germ-free" animals, thereby diminishing the risk of viral
transmission. But it is impossible to breed "germ-free" animals since no animal can remain completely free of parasites
or endogenous viruses. In fact, genetically engineered animals are more susceptible to a host of diseases because of
weaker immune systems.
Based on my estimation, xenotransplantation is not cost effective and I dont Agree with it
