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Thousands of critically-ill people
die each year waiting for a suitable organ or tissue donation for
transplantation. Pigs offer a potential source of suitably-sized
organs for xenotransplantation, the transplantation of living
cells, tissues and organs from one species to another species.
Xenotransplantation from pigs is currently not feasible because
human antibodies react to molecules present on the cell surface of
pig tissue to cause the hyperacute response and tissue
rejection. Scientists have used a
gene-targeting approach to "knockout" the pig genes producing
these cell-surface molecules, and have produced cloned pigs that
do not have these antigenic molecules on the surface of their
cells. Further research to evaluate the survival of transplanted
organs from these pigs is underway to evaluate the potential of
this technology as a solution for the world-wide shortage of
organs and cells for transplantation
Companies using Transgenic Biotechnology
Revivicor
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc
Sygen International
BresaGen
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