To form a well-rounded opinion as to whether xenotransplantation can have a positive effect on society, herein we will look at the pros.
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The Pros of Xenotransplantation
#1. There Are Potential Life-Saving Benefits
While xenotransplantation has not been perfected yet, it has the potential to save the lives of individuals who are in a human transplant list quite long. There are plenty of cases of people who have passed away while waiting for a transplant. Xenotransplantation can be used to prevent such situations from occurring by extending their lives by using animal organs just long enough to wait for their human organ transplant.
#2. It Diminishes the Black-Market Organ Donation Opportunities
The trade of human organs on the black market is a huge issue. It typically involves poor people, usually from third-world countries, selling their kidneys through agents to rich individuals in need of the organs for their own use. There are several issues that arise from such trade. The main issue to arise from the trade is the emergence of some elements of exploitation. The organ donors typically get very little money, with the largest share of the money going to the agents that connect the organ donors with the recipients.
Another huge issue that authorities have to contend with when it comes to black market organ trade is that it finances organized crime. For the most part, it is the organized crime groups that arrange for the removal and transplantation of the organs in question. And then there is a huge risk that donor face, even when they are willing donors. For instance, there is no oversight, and the process does not follow regulation. As such, there is an increased chance of the donor contracting a disease after the procedure or experiencing complications during the procedure.
With the above in mind, using organs from the animals can help end the black organ market organ trade.
#3. It Could Potentially Open up New Fields of Research
Xenotransplantation has the potential to spur interest in new fields of research pertaining to treating different kinds of illnesses. Consider this, crocodiles are renowned for their stellar ability to fight off disease owing to the antibodies that they naturally produce. By using xenotransplantation, we might use science and what we learn from animals to get rid of deadly diseases such as cancer.
#4. Xenotransplantation Could Satisfy the Demand and Supply of Organs
We could use xenotransplantation to deal with the huge deficit that exists between the demand and supply of organs. This will especially improve as the associated technologies involved in xenotransplantation improve.
