Animal - Man

Xenotransplantation was introduced due to the shortage of organs available for transplant. In United States, the waiting list is quoted to be about 9400. Because of this high demand in organs, animal to human organ transplants are being considered to save lives all around the world. This multi-million project is built on the hope of more techniques, as well as drugs to overcome organ-rejection and in its process, used to treat life-threatening illnesses. Although its hopes of usage and potential. It is a controversial issue circulating the globe. It raises many medical, legal, religious and ethical issues.
In this report we list down our key points of our project mainly medical, economic, technological advancement, social and religious. The questions and replies posted by the discussion. Suggestions that my group feels should be considered in order to overcome this subjective issue. Finally, our stand.

Medically, has promised the end of the shortage of usable organs to save lives of patients suffering from different kinds of diseases. With the help of genetically engineered DNA of pigs and chimpanzees, it has prove the possibility of curing diseases such as Parkinsons’ diseases, Alzhimer, or even AIDS, as what that has been stated in the research., that “..in 1995..transplanted baboon bone marrow into a man.. who is infected with HIV.. done marrow produces immune stem cells that could protect him from infection”.
With advanced scientific studies and technology, lives could be spared and patients will get a chance to live again.
However, when there are solutions to cease the problems, more complex ones will arise. And one of them is that xenotransplant only on a temporary basis. And the organ will function for only a period of time. Tissue rejection will be activated after sometime and antibodies will destroy the foreign tissue which is in the immune system.

Economically, Xenotransplantation even more expensive than most human-to-human transplantation(roughly $300,000 per operation, not including the hidden costs. Currently it cost from $20,000 to $100,000 to test just one pig for the presence of known bacteria and viruses. The biotechnology company Nextran explains that one of its pig organs will eventually cost the same as a human organ.
Factoring in years of follow-up care and immunosuppressive drugs, the cost rises to about $400,000 for a liver transplant and over $300,000 each for a heart and lung transplants.
However, xenotransplants in some cases it reduces the cost of treating people waiting for organ transplants. For example, transplanting a kidney costs less than dialysis treatment over five years.

To further improve Xenotransplantation, scientist are trying to develop transgenic animals that produce human markers, to develop a method of embryo transfer to avoid parental infection to produce pigs free from viral and bacterial infection and to develop new methods of reproducing non-humans mammals for Xenotransplantation. The time needed and outcome of this research seems to be unforeseen.

Xenotransplantation have result in many social issues concerning such method. As some organizations claim that Xenotransplantation is dangerous, expensive and inhumane. Due to the risk of Xenograft recipient ad their close ones from infected by animal virus.
Furthermore, the ending of animals live to prolong human life is seen as a selfish behavior.

From our research on 3 different religions, both Islam and Jews have similar dietary laws. “Kashrut” law is the name for Jews dietary laws. Even though both religions prohibits the consumption and raising of pigs, nevertheless using pig organs for Xenotransplantation is not regarded as eating pork.
Moreover, both Judaism and Islam allow for exceptions to dietary laws particularly in situations in which human life might be saved. Furthermore, Xenotransplantation is the harvesting of tissue from agricultural animals that were already being butchered. Thus, it is less offensive to most people than the idea of raising a primate solely as an organ donor.
Islam and Jews aside, Hindus regards organ donation as a matter that should be left to an individual’s conscience. With the exceptions of cows, which are sacred in Hinduism, there are no prohibitions on using parts of animals to alleviate human suffering.

The questions that were imposed onto my group were within our knowledge.

1. Question: If the person dies after going through Xenotransplantation, why are they still practicing it?

Answer: Although chances of recovery are minimal after going through Xenotransplantation, it has been widely practiced. This is because patients might just want to live longer to spent more time with their families and enjoy life to the fullest of his or her ability. Spending more time with their family or travel to places they much desire or do charitable work.
But some patients also believe in miracles and God. Book of records have shown patients who have experienced miracles on the brink of their death. They are willing to take a risk of having animal organs being transplanted to their body, and pray to god in hoping for a miracle to occur.
Thus these are the reasons why some patients are in favor of Xenotransplantation. But it may only be for temporary measures.

2. Question: The animals, such as pigs, are raised in a germ free environment. However, there is still a potential for humans to contract diseases from these animals. Why?

Answer: Though these animals are raised in a germ free environment, there are viruses which the animals are immune to but can infect humans. For example, HIV in prime apes which are fatal to humans but are immune to their system. This is called Xenozoonosis, the potential for infectious disease (animal virus), due to transplanting animal organs, cells and tissues into people, to spread not only to the recipient but to the general population.
To solve this problem, recipients of animal transplants have to agree never to donate blood, take frequent blood tests and use safe sex methods for the rest of their lives.

3. Question: Why cloning method is not used to develop organ for transplantation, rather Xenotransplantation is performed, despite of its risk and inhumane?

Answer: Though Xenotransplantation is dangerous and inhumane method, but therapeutic cloning, to generate tissues and organs for transplants, is still towards the researching stage. Therefore, therapeutic cloning has yet to be proven safe for used on human. And cloning have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, and tumor growth. To solve such problems maybe more research could be done on therapeutic cloning however the ever increasing waiting list for organ transplantation deprived them of such privilege.

4. Question: What are your opinions if the Muslim feels uncomfortable about having pig organ transplanted in their body?

Answer: From our point of view, since the teachings of Islam already states that there is no harm in the transplantation of pig organ into a Muslim’s body, it is fine to continue to practice such transplantation especially in situations in which human life might be saved. Every religion teachings would put a human life into priority and there is no need for an individual to feel uncomfortable or strange as the religion already accepts it.

We feel that more research should be done so we can explore this topic better and have less questions in mind in order to make a clear conclusion about this issue. For example economically, researchers should find an alternative and inexpensive way to test animals for viruses, to breed healthy animals and explore new ways to make the operation cost more economical so that most people afford it. Saving patients’ life should be a doctor’s first priority.
For now, it remains a subjective issue and should not be taken lightly as it has many implications may be made.

Xenotransplantation can help ease the suffering of people that are suffering from illness and diseases such as stroke and Parkinson disease, where their conditions can improve after undergoing pig neural cell transplant.
In terms of religions’ perspective, it is a green light for us and that people should continue to adopt it since most religions, in particular Islam, Jews and Buddhism which are the three religious groups that we focus on accepts Xenotransplantation even if it uses the tissue of a pig. Like what we said in our presentation, saving of human life should be prioritized even if the only solution defeats the religious law.

However at this point of time my group is against it as, we agree as it is appropriate for the patient to live for a short time to make amendments and enjoy the last days of their life. That is the least they can do so that the patient wouldn’t die in regret. Or it may give a second chance to a young life.
Without much knowledge at hand we feel that epidemic outbreak of a disease cause by Xenotransplantation, it is unwise to practice it on one particular patient and jeopardize lives of hundreds as viruses, will spread and cause more chaos.

We fear that the advantage of it does not outweigh its danger.