Xenotransplantation is both an area of ongoing scientific research as well as an area of medical practice for many physicians in the United States. The phenomenon involves transplanting non-human organs and/or tissues into humans. The premise behind the research and practice of xenotransplantation is to offer potential treatments for significant and serious illnesses suffered by humans, namely those for which organ transplants are required.
As a concept, the ideas behind xenotransplantation were established centuries ago with evidence dating the idea to as early as the 16th century. However, it was soon discovered that non-human grafts would be quickly and repetitively rejected on the basis of what was later identified (early in the 20th century) as the human immune response. This essentially resulted in an abandonment of the idea, and thus it was not until the early 1960’s when interest once again erupted with regard to the prospects of transplanting organs and tissues between species (namely humans). Why? It was in the 60’s when very large advancements were made in the field of immunology.
In 1961 a British immunologist by the name of Peter Gorer, had proposed to change the term “heterotransplantation,”the transplantation of a heterograft (which referred to the concepts surrounding transplantation of organs between species), to “xenotransplantation.” As such, the practice was subsequently coined and referred to as “xenotransplantation” soon after.
While the idea is to promote and preserve the health and well-being of individuals, there are very serious dangers and concerns that exist regarding the practice. Some of these concerns include infection and rejection, animal welfare and ethics, legal obstacles (regulations), and economics.
