Xenotransplantation

Current Context : Richard Slayman was the first human recipient of pig kidney transplant died.

• He got the first modified pig kidney transplant in March this year.

ABOUT:

• “Xenotransplantation is any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation or infusion into a human recipient of either (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs.”
• Essentially, it is the use of animal cells and organs to heal humans.
• Xenotransplantation involving the heart was first tried in humans in the 1980s.
• Pig heart valves have been used for replacing damaged valves in humans for over 50 years now.
• The pig’s anatomical and physiological parameters are similar to that of humans, and the breeding of pigs in farms is widespread and cost-effective.