The primary problem in organ transplantation today is the shortage of human donors. A proposed soluuse of pigs, but the risk of rejection is currently too great. The ultimate goal for transplant recispecific immune tolerance. They would then accept their grafts as "self' without immune… More

More than 1 million Americans have type I (insulin dependent) diabetes. Transplantation of human islets, with the appropriate immune suppression, can provide a long-term insulin free cure. However, there is a severe shortage of human islet donors available, sufficient for only about 1000 transplants… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has emerged as a major public health problem. World wide, as many as 200 million people are infected. In the United States, an estimated 3.9 million are infected, with 2.7 million Americans chronically infected. The immune response of the… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The transplantation of heart grafts can dramatically provide a long and productive life to recipients with heart failure. Typical transplant survivals are more than 10 years. Because of an acute shortage of human donors, however, most do not receive their needed… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): There is a huge disparity between the number of patients who need a transplant and the available organ donors. Pigs could readily resolve the unmet need. The physiology of many tissues is close to that of humans. They c an be raised in clean controlled… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Transplantation of human has proved to be most beneficial for patients with end stage organ failure or loss of critical cells. For example, the transplantation of islets from human cadaveric donors has reversed type 1 diabetes for many recipients, making them… More

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Type I diabetes is a widespread disease in which insulin producing pancreatic islets are lost, leading to unstable glucose levels. If the islets can be replaced, as with transplantation, then diabetes can be reversed.Human islets have limited utility because of… More