Article Abstract:
Precautions should be taken to reduce the risks that xenotransplantation poses to individual recipients and to the general public. Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of animal tissue into humans. The risks of xenotransplantation are demonstrated by infectious diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans by various means. Furthermore, an infection that may be harmless to an animal may be extremely harmful to humans. These infections not only harm the original human they infect, but may reach epidemic proportions by being transmitted between humans. Certain animal viruses in transplanted tissue may also combine with human viruses to create hybrids that are particularly harmful. Special measures should be taken with animal tissue to minimize the transmission of disease. A consensus should be reached on what precautions should be taken to protect the public and how research might proceed.
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Article Abstract:
Three cases are described in which patients who received organs from the same donor developed alloimmune thrombocytopenia. This condition is caused by antibodies against platelets, which destroy these cells that are involved in blood clotting. The patients received two kidneys and a liver from a 57-year-old woman who died of a stroke. Many donated organs contain immune cells from the donor. These cells can then cause disease in the recipient. One of the patients died from alloimmune thrombocytopenia.
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Article Abstract:
Medical researchers are developing xenotransplants for treating several diseases, including degenerative neurologic disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, spinal cord injuries, liver failure, burns, and type 1 diabetes. Xenotransplants are cells, tissues, and organs taken from animals.
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