Xenotransplantation: an overview of microbiological risks and potentials for risk management

Xenotransplantation is the use of animal organs, tissues or cells for trans plantion into humans to treat a variety of medical conditions. if proven ef ficacious, the technique could be used as one means of alleviating the disp arity between the growing demand for transplantable organs, tissues and cel ls, and the availability of human-origin transplants world-wide. just as th e practicality and efficacy of the technology need to be investigated, so t oo does the potential for associated infectious disease risk. While much re mains to be learned about the microbiological risk associated with xenotran splantation, the elements to be incorporated into xenotransplantation risk management schemes can be considered, using what is currently known about t he infectious agents potentially relevant to the xenotransplantation settin g.