Diabetes: Controversy over xenotransplantation
The Story
Dr. David White of the University of Western Ontario is at the centre of a medical controversy. White is working with a team in Mexico City that is transplanting pig's islet cells into diabetic teenagers. Given the scarcity of human donors, he says that pig islets make for improved accessibility. But others say that transplanting animal organs into humans is rife with genetic issues and complications. Quirks & Quarks interviews Dr. David White in London, Ont.
Program: Quirks & Quarks
Broadcast Date: Sept. 7, 2002
Guest(s): Dr. David White
Host: Bob McDonald
Duration: 8:46
Did You know?
. The Oxford English Dictionary defines xenotransplantation as the transplantation of organs or tissue from one species into another.
. The prefix "xeno" comes from the Greek word xenos, meaning stranger.
. Dr. White's experiment came under considerable scrutiny because it involved testing on teenagers. Xenotransplantation involving humans is not allowed in Canada.
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