What sort of disease or health problems could xenotransplantation help to cure or alleviate?
Xenotransplantation has the potential to treat a wide range of life-threatening or debilitating conditions. For example, it is possible that isolated cells could be transplanted to treat diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Huntingdon’s disease or strokes. Another possibility is that xenotransplantation could be used to ‘buy time’ while potential transplant patients wait for a suitable donor. There have been promising results from overseas trials in which isolated pig liver cells contained in a bioreactor were used to treat acute liver failure.
