Xenotransplantation - click to download PDF (160K): download requires Adobe Acrobat

An in-depth look into the science of xenotransplantation as well as discussing the issues that surround the technology.

It is only in recent years, with an improved understanding of how the human body works, that the medical use of living animal tissue by human beings - xenotransplantation - has become a seriously viable medical technology.

Xenotransplantation technology brings with it the hope of treatment for sufferers of a variety of debilitating or fatal diseases but also has potential health risks associated with it. And, furthermore, the very idea of using animal parts in human medical procedures raises some important ethical issues about how we treat animals and also how we view ourselves as human beings.