Tag : xenotransplantations

New York : An advisory committee to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has deliberated on how to move forward to allow clinical trials to test pig-to-human organ transplants, media reports said. The process, known as xenotransplantations, dates back to the 17th century, when attempts were made to use animal blood for transfusions. Due to paucity of organs from humans, scientists started looking at non-human primates like monkeys, chimpanzees and baboons, and even pigs, Nature reported. While a handful of such procedures were performed in the past year, there have been no formal human xenotransplant trials. Most agency officials and physicians agree that human trials are needed to help answer the most pressing research questions about interspecies transplants, the report said. Information is also needed on the pig breed best suited for growing transplant organs, and how co-occurring health conditions, such as diabetes, could affect transplantation success. "Human trials would help to answer a slew of questions, including what is the best cocktail of immunosuppressive drugs to give humans to help their bodies accept a pig organ, and how can physicians manage the risk that transplanted organs might harbour a pig virus," added Caroline Zeiss, a veterinary specialist at Yale University. An increasing number of people waiting for organ transplants also push the need for the trials. In the US alone, more than 100,000 people are waiting for organ transplants. Researchers have long hoped that xenotransplantation could help to meet demand and, therefore, save lives. "We have people dying each day waiting for organs," Jay Fishman, a specialist in transplant infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who participa ...