Xenotransplantation -- the transplantation of organs from animals to humans -- soon could be a reality.

The process of transplanting organs from one species into another, xenotransplantation, could ease the current situation, said Dr. Anthony Warrens at the BA Festival of Science in Dublin.

"Although the idea of xenotransplantation is far from new, it is only in recent years that many of the potential immunological problems, such as transplant rejection, have been solved," said Dr. Warrens who is a member of the staff of Imperial College London and Hammersmith Hospital.

"With the increasing shortage of donors for organ transplants, the use of animal organs may be the only hope for many suffering from problems such as kidney, heart or lung failure," he noted.

Cross-Over Viruses

Although substantial progress has been made in this field, some problems with transplanting animal organs into humans persist.

For example, the danger of animal viruses crossing over and infecting humans is still a cause for concern. Researchers have been unable to create an animal model to test the likelihood and extent of any potential cross over.

Unknown animal pathogens also could be problematic. Scientists can create treatment and transplant-rejection prevention strategies for known human pathogens, but they are unable to do so for animal pathogens, which may have unknown effects on humans.

'May Be the Best Hope'

"Despite the risks, xenotransplantation may be the best hope we have for dealing with the current transplant shortage," says Dr. Warrens.

"Currently, there are around 6,000 on the kidney-transplant waiting list, whose condition will only get worse without a transplant," he pointed out.

"Although we can't say there is absolutely no danger of cross infection, I believe that in the future we will be able to deal with many of the problems, reducing any potential risk," Dr. Warrens concluded.