Xeno: The Promise of Transplanting Animal Organs into Humans

Xeno: The Promise of Transplanting Animal Organs into Humans

The plight of a patient waiting months, sometimes years, for an organ transplant is one of the most heart-wrenching predicaments confronting medicine today. But the current critical shortage of human donor organs has had one positive consequence: it has stimulated promising new research into the field of xenotransplantation--the transplantation of organs from one animal species to another. In Xeno: The Promise of Transplanting Animal Organs Into Humans , David Cooper and Robert Lanza explore what may become one of the greatest medical advances of the 21st century. As scientists genetically engineer animal organs to evade the problems of rejection, we can expect a tremendous increase in xenotransplantation. This book recounts the several historical attempts to transplant animal organs into humans, and draws attention to the immense potential and promise of this form of therapy. The problems which remain, and recent breakthroughs in overcoming rejection and in "humanizing" pig organs for transplantation, are fully discussed. The authors also provide a fascinating consideration of the social and ethical questions posed by such procedures. Which patients should be the first to be offered this new form of therapy? Will transplanted animal organs transfer infectious viruses to the human recipient, and will they then be passed on to the community at large? Can society afford the major increase in healthcare expenditure that will result from our ability to provide a limitless number of donor organs? With profound implications for human health and longevity in the next millennium, Xeno is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of medicine. If you are what you eat, what do you become after accepting a pig heart transplant? Physicians David K.C. Cooper and Robert P. Lanza examine this question and more in Xeno: The Promise of Transplanting Animal Organs Into Humans . They're on the cutting edge of this long-desired procedure, working for Harvard Medical School and Advanced Cell Technology, respectively, and look carefully at the scientific, ethical, legal, economic, and political issues appended to the promise of nearly unlimited organs and tissues for the needy. Ever since doctors transplanted monkey glands into elderly men--to questionable effect--early in the century, the prospect of using healthy animal organs to replace our own has fascinated and frustrated the medical profession, which has a long-standing joke that xenotransplantation is the future of medicine, and always will be. Cooper and Lanza present compelling arguments that this future might literally come tomorrow, with advances in genetic engineering and sensitive immunological hacking that could extend the lives of transplant patients many years without the use of cruelly immunosuppressive medications. Some problems are a bit bizarre--pigs might have to be exercised regularly for their hearts to be in good condition for transplant, and will have to live in such pristine, germ-free conditions that several major religions might have to reconsider the pig's status as an unclean animal. With animal rights crusaders, technophobic alarmists, and uncertain patients to contend with in addition to challenging immunological and physiological problems, transplant surgeons have their work cut out for them, but the authors of Xeno are optimistic that pigs will soon replace dogs as man's best friend. --Rob Lightner "A concise and thorough analysis."-- Journal of American Medical Association " Xeno offers both scientific and lay readers a lively, cogent, and comprehensive account of the scientific and ethical issues surrounding the use of animal organs and tissues for human transplantation."-- Nature Biotechnology "Whereas the 20th century gave us the ability to perform open heart surgery and organ transplantation, the 21st century will offer us the capability of transplanting animal organs and cells into humans. XENO provides a fascinating review of previous and current scientific and surgical efforts in this field, with excellent discussions of its ethical, legal, and financial implications. It is a readable and balanced book, and will intrigue and stimulate anyone interested in what medicine may be able to offer within the next few years."--Christian N. Barnard, M.D. A fascinating exploration of the medical, ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding the future of organ transplantation. David Cooper, MD, is an Immunologist at the Transplantation Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. Robert Lanza, MD, is Senior Director of Tissue Engineering and Transplant Medicine, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.