In recent years, the subject of organ transplantation from animal to human has become a remarkable research topic. However, a number of difficulties encountered in this system still make this treatment option limited.
For example, animal organs can often be incompatible with the human body, and our immune system may run the risk of rejecting the organ.
Well, let’s imagine that an organ from an animal is successfully transplanted into a human. In such a situation, is it still possible to experience the health problems we experience in our organs?
Organ transplantation from animals to humans is a procedure that has been performed for a long time.
There are several difficulties in the xenotransplantation process, which means transplanting organs obtained from animals into humans. Factors such as incompatibility issues, immune system rejection and infection risks are factors that complicate this process.
Today, organ transplantation is known as a valuable treatment procedure that saves the lives of many people. However, limited organ donation and incompatibility problems cause many patients to have difficulty meeting this vital need. This is exactly where xenotransplantation, which we call transplantation from animal to human, comes into play.
We actually became acquainted with this procedure a long time ago, thanks to simple blood transfusions and skin transplants.
However, as xenotransplantation became more advanced, trials such as chimpanzee-to-human heart transplants began in the 1960s. Unfortunately, the first attempts were not successful because the organs could not provide sufficient support. Later, in 1992, attempts were made to transplant the liver of a baboon monkey into a human.
No long-term success was achieved in these attempts. In the Baby Fae incident that took place in 1983, a baboon heart was transplanted into a girl, but the baby’s lifespan was only 20 days.
In the past, it was very difficult to find suitable donors for organ transplantation, and treatments such as dialysis were not yet developed.
In the 1960s, Keith Reemtsma, a professor at Tulane University in the USA, put forward the idea that non-human primate kidneys could be used to solve this problem. At that time, organ transplants were mostly done through chimpanzee transplants. However, many of these attempts failed due to either rejection or infection.
After the studies led by Reemtsma, another important step in the field of organ transplantation from animal to human was taken in 2022. Surgeons at New York University Langone Hospital successfully transplanted a kidney from a genetically modified pig into a human body.
“Why are pigs considered more suitable for transportation?” If you say so, there are a few easy reasons:
Pigs are seen by scientists as the most suitable option to solve the organ shortage crisis due to their advantages such as ease of pig breeding, short pregnancy periods, high number of offspring, appropriate adult organ sizes and low maintenance costs.
So, can the transplanted organ cause any problems in the person?
Biological barriers and infection risks that may arise during transplantation from animal organs to humans are among the important issues that occupy researchers in this field. Therefore, organ transplantation from animal to human seems far from being a safe and effective solution at the moment.
On the other hand, with the constant developments in the scientific world, technological advances in this field in the future may offer more reliable and effective solutions. However, for now, organ transplantation from humans is generally recommended for people in need of organ transplantation.
Studies and trials so far have shown that xenotransplantation has a number of challenges.
Of course, an animal’s organs are not identical to our organs. Therefore, there is no guarantee that the transplanted organ will function like a normal human organ. “What kind of difficulties await us?” If you ask, we can list them as follows:
- There may be major immunological incompatibilities between humans and animal organs. These incompatibilities can also lead to rejection of the organ by the immune system.
- Organs taken from animals may increase the risk of infection to humans, and some microorganisms found in animals may pose a danger to us.
- There is a risk of disease (xenozoonosis) transmitted from animals to humans during transportation. This means a serious health threat.
If an animal kidney is successfully transplanted into a human, would the need for dialysis theoretically be eliminated?
Yes, he can get up. However, in this case, it is important to emphasize that the situations listed above should be taken into consideration.
If the human body can accept the animal organ, it is very difficult to guarantee that the organ can function without any problems forever. Therefore, we do not know whether the treatment methods used in human diseases will also be effective in animal organs.
In theory, it may be possible for an animal organ to be transplanted into a human and function successfully, but unfortunately it is difficult to comment as this is not yet successful today.
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