Researchers at the University of California are just starting an experiment that will develop a pig with a human pancreas. If the procedure is successful, the organs obtained in this way can be used for transplantation in the future.
Pigs are an ideal target for research into xenograft transplants, i.e. between different species. Thanks to the fact that they share 94 percent of people with people. DNA, they can donate heart valves or blood vessels. Pig organs are also very similar in anatomy and efficiency to human organs, so in the past there have even been attempts to transplant pig hearts in needy people.
These 6 percent. different DNA, however, makes a gigantic difference. Given that allograft (human-to-human) transplants are often rejected or a recipient versus donor syndrome develops, it is easy to imagine that a pig’s heart has no chance of being permanently incorporated into the human body.
Therefore, scientists came up with the idea to grow fully human organs in the bodies of pigs. They intend to implant human stem cells into a pig embryo, which will then be transformed into the pancreas. The experiment is expected to last only 28 days, after which the embryo will be killed. Next, researchers will check whether the human pancreas actually started to develop in it.
If the experiment were successful, it would open the door to the cultivation of human organs for transplantation. However, there are also ethical questions. Opponents of the experiment fear that placing human stem cells in a pig embryo will result in the development of the human brain. The head of the experiment, prof. Pablo Ross reassures: “We believe that the probability of the human brain developing is very low”.
Based on: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/