title: Potential alternative approaches to xenotransplantation.
abstract: There is an increasing worldwide shortage of organs and cells for transplantation in patients with end-stage organ failure or cellular dysfunction. This shortage could be resolved by the transplantation of organs or cells from pigs into humans. What competing approaches might provide support for the patient with end-stage organ or cell failure? Four main approaches are receiving increasing attention - (i) implantable mechanical devices, although these are currently limited almost entirely to devices aimed at supporting or replacing the heart, (ii) stem cell technology, at present directed mainly to replace absent or failing cells, but which is also fundamental to progress in (iii) tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, in which the ultimate aim is to replace an entire organ. A final novel potential approach is (iv) blastocyst complementation. These potential alternative approaches are briefly reviewed, and comments added on their current status and whether they are now (or will soon become) realistic alternative therapies to xenotransplantation.
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Domesticated Organ Medical Engineering Research and Development Center, State and Local Joint Cancer Genome Clinical Application of Key Technology Laboratory, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China. Electronic address: lishamou@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lisha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mou
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Xenotransplantation, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Fengjiao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Xenotransplantation, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Yifan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Shenzhen Domesticated Organ Medical Engineering Research and Development Center, State and Local Joint Cancer Genome Clinical Application of Key Technology Laboratory, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors.forename: David K C
authors.initials: DKC
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001187:Artificial Organs; D006801:Humans; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000637:transplantation; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013552:Swine; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous
keywords: Blastocyst complementation; Pluripotent stem cells; Regenerative medicine; Tissue engineering; Total artificial heart; Ventricular assist device; Xenotransplantation