Defining Success: Assessing the Feasibility of Pig-to-Human Transplantation

Day: Saturday, April 22   Hour: 12:00 - 12:30 pm

By: Ololade Olakanmi

In light of the severe shortage of transplantable organs, scientists have been seriously considering using pigs as potential organ donors. In the past, pig-to-human transplantation was an idle hope, but with recent advances researchers have been able to develop this procedure into a potential therapy. However, the utilization of this procedure also begets a multitude of moral, ethical and biological dilemmas which must be addressed if animal-to-human transplantation is ever to become a clinical reality. In this paper I will enumerate and attempt to rationally reach a conclusion on many of the dilemmas that encircle the issue of cross-species transplantation. I will especially focus on many of the biological concerns. I will then argue that before pig-to-human transplantation is implemented, the scientific community must agree on the degree of laboratory “success” necessary for this procedure to advance into clinical trials. <<Back to Conference program