The man behind the first heart transplant 40 years ago, Sir Terence English, says his protégé Prof Christopher McGregor, from the University of Alabama, has developed two “knock-out” genes which will allow pig organs to be safely transferred to humans. Prof McGregor and his team hope to carry out an pig-human kidney transplant this year. If all goes to plan, it would lead to a pig-heart transplant within three years.
A kidney transplant is considered a good starting point, as if it is not successful the patient can return to dialysis, giving them a better chance of survival.
However, there is no going back if a heart transplant is not a success.
The process is known as xenotransplantation – where an organ is transplanted from one species to another – and experts hope it will one day solve the global organ donation shortage.
With a global shortage of suitable organ donors, the move could be a massive breakthrough for the medical industry.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), someone is added to the organ transplant waiting list every ten minutes.
UNOS said someone dies waiting for an organ transplant on average every 20 minutes.
The World Health Organisation (WHO): “The shortage of organs is virtually a universal problem. In some countries, the development of a deceased organ donation programme is hampered by sociocultural, legal and other factors.
“Even in developed countries, where rates of deceased organ donation tend to be higher than in other countries, organs from this source fail to meet the increasing demand.”
Pigs are an ideal candidate to help humans as their organs, specifically the heart and kidneys, are very similar to that of ours.
Sir English told the Sunday Telegraph: “If the result of xenotransplantation is satisfactory with porcine kidneys to humans then it is likely that hearts would be used with good effects in humans within a few years.
“If it works with a kidney, it will work with a heart. That will transform the issue.”
“There will be animal rights people who will say it’s entirely wrong, but if you can save a life isn’t that maybe a bit better?”
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One major concern is the ethical side of things.
An analysis of xenotransplantation by John Loike, a research biologist and bioethicist at Columbia University, revealed not only would their be animal rights issues, but also religious ones.
Dr Loike wrote: “Xenotransplantation also raises several ethical, cultural, and religious concerns that need to be addressed. First, many Islamic cultures do not allow the use of porcine organs, such as heart valves, to replace defective human organs.”
However, he goes on to say: “This issue might be mitigated by the views of several Islamic scholars who have allowed organ transplants from pigs because the patients would die without these transplants.
“Thus, saving human lives overrides the prohibition of using a porcine organ for transplantation.”
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