I am a transplant surgeon whom is responsible for xenotransplantation process which is yet to be confirmed. If the process is carried out, I will be transplanting a pig’s heart organ into a human. There are difficulties in transplanting a pig organ into a human. There would be high chances of rejection which is where the immune system finds that cells in the heart organ aren't correspondent and the immune system believes they are of potential danger and therefore destroys the cells of the organ making it un-function-able. Another very large issue with xenotransplantation is zoonoses. Zoonoses are diseases in which can originate in either humans or other animals however may spread among and between these species. Zoonotic diseases are caused by: bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. One reason why humans are considered vulnerable to zoonoses is because their immune systems could be unfamiliar with these foreign diseases. These diseases can also be consequential to the patient because they increase the likelihood of rejection, and may cause life-threatening infections. Zoonoses are also highly threatening to the wider community as they are usually very contagious which is an exceeding issue considering each separate disease is most likely life-threatening to some extent. A foreign heart could cause psychological issues to the recipient. This would be by depriving itself and other organs a supply of nutrients because perhaps the xenotransplanted heart was not functioning normally and blood was not moving as normal. Psychological issues may also be founded by functioning with a foreign heart
