Porcine-derived biomaterials in tissue engineering and reconstructive surgery: Considerations and alternatives in...

During the last three decades, tissue engineering and reconstructive surgery have become standard therapeutic options in the world of medicine. Several biomaterials, either alone or in combination with cultured cellular products, have been introduced to compensate for the scarcity of autologous donor tissue or to improve healing in a variety of surgical specialties, for example, abdominal/visceral surgery, plastic surgery, and cardiovascular surgery. Many of these biomaterials are of porcine origin. It is well known that Islam has prohibited the consumption of porcine or any of its products. With Muslims accounting for 23% (1.6 billion) of the global population, a thorough review of the implications of porcine-derived tissue-engineered products in surgery seems necessary. In life-threatening conditions as well as severe diseases, the use of porcine-derived products is permissible if similar non-porcine-derived materials are not available. In this case, the use of porcine-derived products represents a necessity and is allowed. Therefore, this distinction between sole need and necessity has great importance not only for the medical community but also for researchers in biotechnology and industry who may consider alternatives to porcine-derived materials.