Are there different type of xenotransplants?
Yes. There are four basic types. Solid Organ Xenotransplant: removing an organ, such as a kidney, liver, lung, or heart, from a donor animal and transplanting it into a recipient animal (or human) Cellular or Tissue Xenotransplant: grafting tissues or cells (such as islet [insulin-producing] cells) from a donor animal and grafting or implanting it directly into the organ of a recipient (such as the pancreas of a person with type 1 diabetes) External Therapies: filtering/purifying human blood cells outside of the body through an animal organ (such as a kidney) or cells in an external device Human/Animal Hybrid: human cells grown in culture with non-human animal cells that are transplanted back into human patients In addition, there are non-living animal tissues, such as pig heart valves, that have been used for repairing hearts in humans for many years.
