Millions of people die each year from waiting too long for organ transplants to become available from human donors.
This is the basis for researchers to develop organs that are suitable for human condition. They switch to using organs from other living things such as animals, called xenotransplantation. Pigs are one of the most potential animals to be used as objects for organ donor utilization through a series of genetic modifications.
Xenotransplantation offers the prospect of utilizing organs that can't be fulfilled by humans, namely an unlimited supply of organs. Researchers have announced that they were able to keep pig hearts alive inside baboons for 945 days (Langin et al., 2018).
The discovery brings us one step closer to transplanting pigs into humans. Researchers believe that young pigs are ideal animals for transplants because their organs closely match human organs. Research on the potential for heart transplants from pigs to humans continues to grow, until finally a 57-year-old resident of Maryland, United States, David Bennett, managed to become the first human to survive the heart transplant process.
According to the New York Times, he suffered from heart failure and was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) as well as several other leading transplant centers that reviewed his medical records, so UMMC chose to perform a heart transplant with pig organs. This organ transplant demonstrates for the first time that a genetically modified pig heart can function as a human heart without direct rejection by the patient's body. David Bennett's condition was monitored closely for some time, but sadly, he eventually died after two months of probation due to his deteriorating condition. Furthermore, the success of the xenotransplantation gives hope to other patients with heart problems to survive.
Mohiuddin et al., (2015) added, that improving performance of heterotopic cardiac xenotransplantation (hCXTx) provides a solution to the lack of stability of these organs during preclinical treatment. The prospect of developing heart transplants from pigs is very important because demand for transplants from heart patients is increasing every year. Approximately 3,800 patients with heart problems in the United States receive donor hearts from humans each year, but some patients fail due to the limited availability of donor's hearts.
This makes xenotransplant development opportunities even greater. On the other hand, the development of mass xenotransplantation must pay attention to the ethics that apply in scientific forums. Daar (1998) explains that although xenotransplantation is carried out through in-depth scientific studies, there is the possibility of ethical deviations against the welfare of living things, both humans and animals. Organ transplants will become a traded commodity. The term "organ donation" by humans in the future will no longer apply because the organ already has a certain selling value. It is feared that the research process funded by certain institutions will have a different orientation when xenotransplantation is successful.
They may "sell" the research results for commercial purposes. Several bioethicists also question the consent or consent of both parties to the transplant process, where the animal can't give consent to the medical treatment given to him. This makes researchers worried about the animal welfare of the test animals. The xenotransplants process with pig organs creates a bad perception in the community. They generally view this research as repugnant and immoral and create fear for the public to accept modern technology.
The psychological condition of xenotransplant recipients will be a serious concern in the future, will humans feel comfortable if they have a heart or kidney from a pig inside their body? This will create significant socio-cultural changes in society. Apart from the various pros and cons of implementing xenotransplantation, the research will continue to develop and be studied more deeply to accommodate the prospect of heart transplantation without forgetting the ethical rules that apply in scientific forums and general public.
Reference:
Daar, A.S., 1997. Ethics of xenotransplantation: animal issues, consent, and likely transformation of transplant ethics. World journal of surgery, 21(9), pp.975-982.
Langin, M., Mayr, T., Reichart, B., Michel, S., Buchholz, S., Guethoff, S., Dashkevich, A., Baehr, A., Egerer, S., Bauer, A. & Mihalj, M., 2018. Consistent success in life supporting porcine cardiac xenotransplantation. Nature, 564(7736), pp.430-433.
Mohiuddin, M.M., Reichart, B., Byrne, G.W. & McGregor, C.G., 2015. Current status of pig heart xenotransplantation. International Journal of Surgery, 23, pp.234-239.
Rabin, R. C., 2022. Patient in Ground Breaking Hearts Dies. New York Times. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/health/heart-transplant-pig-bennett.html. Accessed on April 03 2022.
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