Effects of Organ Transplantation from Animals to Human Beings

Margo Willems^*
*Correspondence: Margo Willems, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Biology of the Testis (BITE) laboratory, Laarbeeklaan 103, Belgium, Email:

Introduction

Human organ transplantation is a relatively new branch of medicine that is now confronting a major obstacle. The demand for this treatment significantly outnumbers the supply of donor organs due to its clinical effectiveness. By the end of 1998, more than 60,000 people in the United States (US) were on transplant waiting lists. Only around half of the patients on the list receive solid organ transplants each year. Every day, almost ten individuals die while waiting for organs to become available. These figures do not account for the unknown number of persons who are not transplant candidates due to their age or health state. The need for organ transplantation will continue to rise as increased technical skills and anti-rejection medications make transplantation a viable choice for groups of patients who were previously deemed too susceptible, such as diabetics. Many additional patients may benefit from cell or tissue transplantation to cure a variety of conditions, including diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, cancer and damage to the spinal cord or other organs and limbs.

Description

Organ transplantation has received a lot of media attention recently and it has sparked a lot of societal anxiety. The fundamental issue is a discrepancy between the number of organ transplant requests and the quantity of organs available for transplantation. Patients must now bear not only the physical anguish of organ failure, but also the psychological stress of waiting for healthy organs. In 2008, it was projected that about 97000 people in America were on the waiting list for organ transplants, with 13 people dying every day owing to a shortage of essential healthy organs at a critical time.

Different organ transplant procedures, which are divided into two categories, have made significant development in recent years. When both the donor and the receiver of the cell have tissue or an organ from the same biological species, notwithstanding their genetic differences, homograft is utilised. When the donor and receiver are from different biological species, another approach called Xenograft is used. In Latin, Xeno signifies stranger or foreign. As a result, based on the definition of this approach, Xenograft refers to any procedure that involves the transplantation of animal cells, tissue, or organs into a human recipient. Animal hearts, livers, kidneys, pancreas and lungs are being transplanted into people by scientists. The growing demand for organs, tissues and cells, as well as a scarcity of human organs, has piqued scientists' interest in harvesting organs from animals. Xenotransplantation is the phrase for transferring organs from one species to another and it has so far failed miserably. However, huge organisations are slicing and dicing animals in order to create humans that are part pig and part baboon in the future.

Animal to human organ transplantation advocates argue that these organs would be accessible anytime they were needed, rather than making patients wait months. Immediate transplantation might possibly enhance survival rates. Instead of waiting for a deceased person with organs that are already somewhat damaged, organs might be extracted under anaesthesia from healthy animals. For most businesses, the pig has become the preferred animal. Thousands of pigs are slaughtered each year to be used in human bodies. But, before they reach people, scientists test their organs on baboons to determine if they can be transplanted into a new species. When a xenograft is transplanted into a person, hyperacute rejection causes the graft to be destroyed swiftly (HAR). Antibodies present in the recipient cause HAR, which results in the destruction of the graft vasculature and organ failure. Interstitial bleeding, infarction, necrosis, thrombosis and tubule loss are all signs of acute rejection [1-5].

Conclusion

The amount of human organs available for transplantation is nowhere near enough to fulfil the growing demand from patients all around the world. For critically sick persons who require organ transplants, xenotransplantation offers the potential to improve organ availability and minimise waitlist mortality. However, there is still a potential of zoonotic virus transmission to people, as well as acute and chronic rejection. Improvements in gene editing technology are hoped to lead to successful genetic manipulation in pigs, removing the risk of organ rejection and allowing the first clinical trials of xenotransplantation in humans to begin, extending life and improving quality of life for people suffering from chronic diseases all over the world.

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