Prospects for xenotransplantation

The major limitation on the application of transplantation for the treatment of human disease is a severe shortage of human donor organs and tissues. One approach to overcoming this problem is xenotransplantation, that is the transplantation of animal organs into humans. The major hurdle to xenotransplantation is the immune response of the recipient against the graft. Recent years have brought new information concerning this hurdle and insights of strategies for overcoming it. Other hurdles include the physiological function of the graft in the foreign environment including the possibility of molecular incompatibilities between the donor and recipient and the possibility of transferring infectious diseases from the graft to the recipient. The current perspective on these issues will be presented in the review that follows.