Tooltip
These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

Bioethics briefing no 4: xenotransplantation

As human-to-human transplantation has become more and more successful, it has almost become a victim of its own success. There is a shortage of donor organs, and even with more government initiatives to change the organ donor register system, there will still be a shortfall. Would animal cells, organs and tissues be able to fill this gap? There are a lot of immunological problems associated with this type of transplantation, there are the ethical issues surrounding the breeding of genetically modified animals (such as pigs), there are psychological issues for people in receipt of these types of donor organs, and there are arguments in favour of the use of animal donor organs. These areas are all covered in this briefing.

This resource is part of the Post 16 genetics and genomics collection of resources.

Show health and safety information

Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.

Information on the permitted use of this resource is covered by the Category Three Content section in STEM Learning’s Terms and conditions.