Organ transplants save thousands of lives each year and are considered one of the most significant medical innovations of the past century. Despite that, each year, the number of patients on the waiting list continues to grow, while the number of donors and transplants remains stagnant. One solution scientists are investigating in order to solve this problem is xenotransplantation, a procedure which involves the “transplantation, implantation, or infusion of live cells, tissues, or organs from a non-primate source into a primate recipient” (Samdani). This procedure has the potential to benefit thousands of people by providing a treatment to a wide range of debilitating diseases and aiding in the transplantation process. However, like any other
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Xenotransplantation encompasses a broad spectrum of applications which can provide various cures for incapacitating conditions and can serve as an alternate source of organs. For starters, this type of transplantation has the ability to cure terminal diseases. For instance, isolated cells from nonhuman sources can be beneficial in treating “Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury, acute liver failure, psoriasis, muscular dystrophy, myocardial infarction, and other conditions," says Norman Levinsky, chairman of Boston University's Department of Medicine (Tanne). Moreover, Living Cell Technologies (LCT), an Australian biotechnology lab dedicated to regenerative medicine, claims that transplanting insulin-producing cells into diabetics has improved blood sugar control and reduce the amount of insulin needed. They also transplanted pig cells from a region of the brain that stimulates nerve repair and regrowth for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (“Pig Cell Transplants”). By allowing more research in this procedure, doors to new scientific breakthroughs are bound to occur. Not only will xenotransplantation …show more content…
To start off, in New Zealand, Living Cell Technologies (LCT) has taken promising steps to protect cells from the human immune system by coating pig cells with alginate, a substance found in seaweed that would prevent the immune system from recognizing and attacking the alien islets. These encapsulated cells are used as treatments for Type 1 Diabetes (Zukerman). This cell therapy won’t require co-treatment with immunosuppressant drugs, which oftentimes display negative side effects (“DIABECELL”). This approach signifies a huge milestone for xenotransplantation. While LCT addresses the complications of xenotransplantation with immunotherapy, Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company in Virginia, believes the answer lies with genetic engineering. Using modern DNA technologies, donor animals can be genetically modified so their tissues are no longer recognized as foreign by the transplant recipient’s immune system. For example, Revivicor is trying to inactivate or “knock out” the gene in pigs which produces the enzyme that is normally attacked by human antibodies. The company used CRISPR/Cas9, a genome editing tool, to knock out the pig genes to successfully produced the world’s first Gal knock-out pig (Reardon). Without the production of the enzyme, the human immune system will not trigger
Xenotransplantation encompasses a broad spectrum of applications which can provide various cures for incapacitating conditions and can serve as an alternate source of organs. For starters, this type of transplantation has the ability to cure terminal diseases. For instance, isolated cells from nonhuman sources can be beneficial in treating “Parkinson's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury, acute liver failure, psoriasis, muscular dystrophy, myocardial infarction, and other conditions," says Norman Levinsky, chairman of Boston University's Department of Medicine (Tanne). Moreover, Living Cell Technologies (LCT), an Australian biotechnology lab dedicated to regenerative medicine, claims that transplanting insulin-producing cells into diabetics has improved blood sugar control and reduce the amount of insulin needed. They also transplanted pig cells from a region of the brain that stimulates nerve repair and regrowth for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (“Pig Cell Transplants”). By allowing more research in this procedure, doors to new scientific breakthroughs are bound to occur. Not only will xenotransplantation …show more content…
To start off, in New Zealand, Living Cell Technologies (LCT) has taken promising steps to protect cells from the human immune system by coating pig cells with alginate, a substance found in seaweed that would prevent the immune system from recognizing and attacking the alien islets. These encapsulated cells are used as treatments for Type 1 Diabetes (Zukerman). This cell therapy won’t require co-treatment with immunosuppressant drugs, which oftentimes display negative side effects (“DIABECELL”). This approach signifies a huge milestone for xenotransplantation. While LCT addresses the complications of xenotransplantation with immunotherapy, Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company in Virginia, believes the answer lies with genetic engineering. Using modern DNA technologies, donor animals can be genetically modified so their tissues are no longer recognized as foreign by the transplant recipient’s immune system. For example, Revivicor is trying to inactivate or “knock out” the gene in pigs which produces the enzyme that is normally attacked by human antibodies. The company used CRISPR/Cas9, a genome editing tool, to knock out the pig genes to successfully produced the world’s first Gal knock-out pig (Reardon). Without the production of the enzyme, the human immune system will not trigger