Xenotransplantation: Infectious Risk Revisited

Infectious disease issues in xenotransplantation.

Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of living organs, tissues, or cells from one species to another, is viewed as a potential solution to the existing shortage of human organs for transplantation. While whole-organ xenotransplantation is still in the preclinical stage, cellular xenotransplantation and extracorporeal perfusion applications are showing promise in early clinical trials. Advan...

Less Common Pediatric Infectious Diseases Revisited.

Clinical xenotransplantation.

Two baboon liver xenografts transplanted to patients with B virus hepatitis supported life for 70 and 26 days but did not function optimally despite minimum or no histopathologic findings of overt humoral or cellular rejection in serial biopsies. However, there was evidence of complement activation in both cases, which in retrospect was thought to explain the unsatisfactory outcome. Strategies ...

Xenotransplantation and the harm principle : Factoring out foreseen risk

Xenotransplantation – the transplantation, implantation, or infusion of live cells, tissues or organs from a nonhuman animal source into humans – has been suggested as the most imminent strategy to alleviate the shortage of human grafts. The pursuit of this technology is nonetheless restricted by an unquantifiable risk that the use of animal grafts will unleash new zoonoses that may affect the ...

Detection of infectious baboon cytomegalovirus after baboon-to-human liver xenotransplantation.

Xenotransplantation is considered to be a solution for the human donor shortage. However, there is a potential risk of transmitting animal infections from the transplanted organ. The known transmissibility and clinical significance of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection after allotransplantation led us to evaluate whether baboon cytomegalovirus (BCMV) transmission could occur after a baboon-...