Abstract

XENOTRANSPLANTATION – A REVIEW

Sailesh Narayan*, Rituraj Verma and Irshad Ali

Abstract

The transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another is called Xenotransplantation and such organs are called xenografts or xenotransplants. Human xenotransplantation offers a potential treatment for end stage organ failure. A continuing concern is that many animals, such as pigs, have a shorter life span than humans meaning that their tissue age at a quicker rate. Xenozoonosis and permanent alteration to the genetic code of animals are also cause for concern. It is not uncommon for patients and physicians to use the term “allograft” imprecisely to refer to either allograft (human to human) or xenograft (animal to human). The first xenotransplantation appeared in scientific literature in the year 1905, when slices of rabbit kidney were transplanted into a child with renal insuffiency. Human organs have been transplanted into animal as a powerful research technique for studying human biology without harming human patients. This technique has also been proposed as an alternative source of human organs for future transplantation into human patients.

Keywords: Xenotransplantation, Xenografts, Xenotransplant, Xenozoonosis, Allograft.