Xenotransplantation

Context: Recently researchers have said that genetically modified pig heart took longer to generate a heartbeat than hearts of pigs or humans usually do. The 57-year-old recipient lived for 61 days after the transplant in January 2022.

About Xenotransplantation:

• Xenotransplantation is any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation or infusion into a human recipient of either (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs.
• In 2021, surgeons at New York University Langone Health transplanted kidneys from the same line of genetically modified pigs into two legally dead people with no discernible brain function.
  • The organs were not rejected, and functioned normally while the deceased recipients were sustained on ventilators.

Benefits :

• Recent evidence has suggested that transplantation of cells and tissues may be therapeutic for certain diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes, where, again, human materials are not usually available.

Issues :

• The use of xenotransplantation raises concerns regarding the potential infection of recipients with both recognized and unrecognised infectious agents and the possible subsequent transmission to their close contacts and into the general human population.
• Moreover, new infectious agents may not be readily identifiable with current techniques.

Source: DownToEarth

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Consider the following statements :

1. Genetic changes can be introduced in the cells that produce eggs or sperms of a prospective parent.
2. A person’s genome can be edited before birth at the early embryonic stage.
3. Human induced pluripotent stem cells can be injected into the embryo of a pig.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ? (2020)

1. 1 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 2 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q.2) What is cas9 protein that is often mentioned in the news ? (2019)

1. A molecular scissors used in targeted gene editing.
2. A biosensor used in the accurate detection of pathogens in patients.
3. A gene that makes plants pest-resistant
4. An herbicidal substance synthesized in generally modified crops