Xenotransplantation

3337 Words7 Pages

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

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
The Ethics of Animal Use in Biomedical Research
1849 Words | 4 Pages
Both in and out of philosophical circle, animals have traditionally been seen as significantly different from, and inferior to, humans because they lacked a certain intangible quality – reason, moral agency, or consciousness – that made them moral agents. Recently however, society has patently begun to move beyond this strong anthropocentric notion and has begun to reach for a more adequate set of moral categories for guiding, assessing and constraining our treatment of other animals. As a growing proportion of the populations in western countries adopts the general position of animal liberation, more and more philosophers are beginning to agree that sentient creatures are of a direct moral concern to humans, though the degree of this concern is still subject to much disagreement. The political, cultural and philosophical animal liberation movement demands for a fundamental transformation of humans’ present relations to all sentient animals. They reject the idea that animals are merely human resources, and instead claim that they have value and worth in themselves. Animals are used, among other things, in basic biomedical research whose purpose is to increase knowledge about the basic processes of human anatomy. The fundamental wrong with this type of research is that it allows humans to see animals as here for them, to be surgically manipulated and exploited for money. The use of animals as subjects in biomedical research brings forth two main underlying ethical issues: firstly, the imposition of avoidable suffering on creatures capable of both sensation and consciousness, and secondly the uncertainty pertaining to the notion of animal rights.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ethics and Scientific Research
1422 Words | 3 Pages
"Xenotransplantation – Ethical Considerations Based on Human and Societal Perspectives." Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica. March 31, 2004. http://www.actavetscand.com/content/45/S1/S65.
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Xenotransplantation

Analysis of Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Attention Getter Of Organ Transplants

The Ethics of Animal Use in Biomedical Research