Should Animal 's Organ Be Used For Human Transplantation?

The medical practice of organ transplantation has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 50 years. Each year the medical profession takes more risk with decisions regarding transplants, how to allocate for organs, and most recently conducting transplants on children with adult organs. “An organ transplantation is a surgical operation where a failing or damaged organ in the human body is removed and replaced with a new one” (Caplan, 2009). Not all organs can be transplanted. The term “organ transplant” typically refers to transplants of solid organs: heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and intestines. There are two ways of receiving an organ transplant: from a living human or an organ from a

Imagine you are laying in a hospital bed connected to multiple machines, IV’s and monitors. The only thing keeping you alive is the heart and lung machine, the team of doctors, nurses and specialist. Even with the help of modern medicine you will only remain alive as long as you stay in that hospital bed; attached to those lifesaving machines. Even with the help of those machines your life is not guaranteed. Now imagine knowing that the only thing that can save your life is a heart transplant, and having to wait your turn on a very long list to get one.

In December of 1954, the first human organ transplant was performed in the United States between identical twin brothers. In the past sixty years, organ transplantation has become the gold standard in the treatment of organ failure from a number of underlying causes with dramatic improvements to recipients’ health and quality of life (Kaserman, 2007). From the first kidney transplant in 1954 to the late 1980’s, one of the biggest advancements was the use of cadaver organs. Organ rejection was the primary concern from the transplant team who knew that the use of cadaver organs posed higher risks of failure.

The shortage of organ transplants has been an ongoing crisis for years; the growing list of patients awaiting transplants has no end in sight, and the number of people dying while they waste away on the waiting list is not going to go down unless something changes.Society has turned away from alternatives to our archaic organ donation program, but there are other options available.The transplant community and society as a whole need to step back and rethink--to adopt a more open-minded views on organs as a resource in order to save lives and make meaningful changes to the national transplant program.

Throughout time Organ transplanting has been an important medical procedure that has been present, not only in the United States, but around the globe. It is the process of surgically removing an organ from on patient and then transplanting it into the other. This practice is usually used when a recipient’s own organ fails to function properly or has

Xenotransplantation is a controversial medical procedure that has been debated by medical ethicists for many years. Xenotransplantation or Xeno is defined as the short-term transplantation of animal tissues into a human. It has been argued that the procedure is unethical because of the use of animal organs. However, twenty two people die each day waiting for an organ transplant, so we must act soon to save the thousands of lives that are still waiting. Xenotransplantation is a highly debatable procedure and offers a unique solution to the ever growing organ transplant list, making it a viable and worthwhile procedure.

The medical industry had been achieving more in the stage of medical advancements, though they are still in the early phase. Artificial organs have been one of those achievements. Although they have achieved such, artificial organs are not perfect. Most doctors as well as patients would prefer to replace a dying organ with a compatible human organ, rather than with an artificial or animal organ. Yet due to a there being less organs donated than recipients, artificial and animal organs are becoming more common in transplants. Most of this issue is because people are unaware of how organ donation works, the organs that can be donated, how many people are in need, and the advancements that have happened in the field. Organ donation saves hundreds of lives every year, but many lives are recklessly lost due to a shortage of organ donors.

There are numerous problems dealing with organ transplantation. A major issue concerning organ transplantation is that organ donors are deficient and scarce. Donors have been known to scarce because not everyone takes good care of his or her body. There are not enough people to donate organs, yet the amount of people in need of organs is increasing by the hour. “Another conflict is organ transplants can still lead to other medical problems. This is usually because of the medicine you need to suppress your immune system” (Nazario Brunilda , “Common”). After an organ transplants, it is a must that you continuously take your medication; a sudden stop will most likely cause the immune system to reject the organ. “The medications can also raise your blood pressure and can cause osteoporosis due to loss of calcium” (Etienne, Flueridor Wendy).

Imagine the feeling of knowing that you saved someone's life. Thousands of people are waiting for the perfect match to arrive so they can live a happy, Healthy, and normal life outside of a hospital. Organ Transplantation is a long and hard process that many people have to encounter. Giving someone a second chance at life, what could be better than knowing you saved someone's life. That's what organ donation can give a person. The need for organs is constantly growing, and becoming an organ donor is very easy. Anyone can be a hero, become a hero and donate organs, because transplants are good and save lives.

The first successful human transplant recorded in medical science history occurred in 1954. These transplants included the following: kidney, heart and liver. As the years pass by other organ transplant are on the rise such as kidney-pancreas and heart-lung. Every year, an outstanding number of patients lose their life waiting for a brand-new organ. This has left the medical field in search of a new solution to solve this problem. The benefits of having a pig organ transplant into human is that this would provide a supply of organs to the people in need, would allow scientist to open up new areas of research.

A xenotransplant is a perfect way to prolong someone’s life or allow the to heal faster and better. What this is is the process of grafting or transplanting organs or tissues between members of different species. These transplants can improve the life of many that has no hope on waiting for a transplant in the organ donor list by giving them some extra years.

Every year many people of all ages, have to be put on a donor list to get a replacement of a diagnosed organ that must be replaced to live. It is no secret that the organ transplantation list has a significant amount of people and every day a handful of them die. A average of twenty one people die everyday, according to the American Transplant Foundation. Many scientist and medically certified personals have been trying to come up with alternative genetic modified organs to give to needed patients, instead of waiting for a donor to come up. A alternate solution they have experimented with is xenotransplantation, the procedure that takes animal cells, organs, tissues, etc…, and replaces with what the donor needs, instead of having a human donor. The procedure has been experimented on for many years since the first transplantation between humans was successful. Nevertheless, xenotransplantation should not be considered because of the physiological beliefs, disease transmission, and of animal cruelty.

Pig organs are well suited for transplantation; they are approximately the same size as human organs and have similar plumbing, which makes reconnecting blood vessels much easier. Also, the size of pig litters tends to be large and pigs reproduce quickly, raising the prospect of a large supply of "spare" organs.

Not only will xenotransplantation cure diseases, but will also serve as a source of organs and tissues for transplant. Worldwide, very few human organs are available for transplantation, which results in ailing patients waiting in vain for a suitable donor. According to UNOS, a non-profit that manages the nation’s organ transplant system, more than 118,804 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant as of January 2017 (“Data”). The increasing imbalance between the supply and demand for organs, therefore opens the door to xenotransplantation as a solution. Xenografts could serve as an unlimited supply of cells, tissues, and organs (Kleaner). Furthermore, xenotransplantation can also be used to buy time while potential transplant patients wait for a suitable donor. Dr. Michler, surgeon-in-Chief at Montefiore Medical Center, views xenotransplants as “a bridge, buying time of months until [an organ] is found” (Tanne). According to Medscape, a web resource for physicians, “most patients perceive xenotransplantation as an acceptable bridge to transplantation of human organs in life-threatening situations” (Samdani). Bridge transplants can ease the current shortage of organs until researchers find a more permanent solution. It provides patients in dire situations an opportunity to keep holding on to life. Xenotransplantation has proven advantageous in numerous disciplines of medicine.

Physicians today are faced with a growing list of patients awaiting transplants for organs that have failed, but there are not enough donors to meet these needs. Countries all over the world have a “human organ shortage” and the waiting lists for organ transplants only seem to grow longer (Melo 427). In the United States 62,000 patients needed a kidney, liver, or pancreatic transplant in the year 2001. Xenotransplantation, which refers to the transplantation of organs, cells, or tissues from animal species into human beings, has been heralded as a promising technology that will help us save more lives and lessen the dire shortage of transplantable organs.