Genetic engineering makes pig organs ready for humans at last?

sea-maid submitted, created time 1 month 1 week (www.newscientist.com)

In the not too distant future, a person in need of a heart transplant could be offered a pig's organ. That's the hope of a group that met in China last week to agree global guidelines for the first clinical trials of "xenotransplants."

There have been some serious problems that scientists have had to overcome. For example, porcine endogenous retroviruses, or PERVs, are one major concern. These are chunks of viral DNA incorporated into the pig genome. There are fears that these viruses could reawaken if they are transported into an unfamiliar body

9 comments | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: ethics genetic engineering xenotransplants organ transplants transplants Pig organs