Rather than do my assignment on this, i thought id throw this topic out for discussion and see what others think.
Basically xenotransplantation involves using the organs from another species as donors to treat human diseases. Got end stage liver disease? No worries, we'll give you a liver out of a pig. Pigs are preferentially used for several reasons:
-their organs are a close match in size to the human
-they are easy to raise in captivity (compared to primates)
Reasons for xenotransplantation are many:
-there are not enough organs available for those who need them
-human donor organs that are available may be infected, eg. with hepatitis
-organs raised in an animal may be genetically modified to be a better match with the recipient
However its not all peachy
-ethical reasons - religion etc animal cruelty
-rejection of transplant - this is a common problem all transplants
-need for immune system suppression - to deal with rejection. The downside to this is that opportunistic infection is more likely
-infection with viruses from the donor organ. This is what my assignment is mainly on. While its shit boring, its important. All pigs have endogenous viruses within their cells which may infect the human, though experiments are inconclusive at this time.
-also, human viruses (were all infected with various viral agents) may attack the donor organ.
Thats basically a brief overview of the topic. Theres much more but it starts to get too detailed. Im interested in what people outside the science community think about this kind of thing, and whether or not theyd support it.
Personally I think its a good idea. If all the kinks can be worked out it represents a viable intervention to help many people