Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
182,549 studies31 sourcesUpdated 27 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYTransplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation

Logistics of clinical xenotransplantation: from donor pig production to global organ distribution

  • Konrad Fischer1
  • Joachim Denner2
  • Ralf Reinhard Tönjes3
  • Philipp Felgendreff4
  • Axel Rahmel5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Walter Brendel Center of Experimental Medicine, Institute of Surgical Research, University Hospital, LMU Munich , ,
  2. 2Institute of Virology, Free University Berlin , ,
  3. 3Paul-Ehrlich-Institut, Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines , ,
  4. 4Department of General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, Hannover Medical School , ,
  5. 5German Organ Transplantation Foundation , ,
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

The shortage of transplantable organs remains one of the most significant unmet challenges in modern medicine. Despite advances in donor management, organ preservation, surgical techniques, and immunosuppression, organ demand continues to exceed supply worldwide. Xenotransplantation using genetically engineered porcine organs has emerged as a promising strategy to address this gap. Recent clinical pig-to-human heart and kidney transplantations have demonstrated the feasibility of clinical xenotransplantation and shifted attention from immunological barriers toward practical implementation. This review examines the logistical requirements for clinical xenotransplantation, with particular emphasis on donor herd management, biosafety, organ preservation technologies, and future distribution networks. The integration of donor production with advanced machine perfusion technologies may ultimately transform transplantation medicine from a donor-dependent emergency service into a predictable and scalable therapeutic platform.

Related

  1. Distribution, Severity, and Root Causes of Traffic Accidents in a Logistics Company
    Syifa Ula Hamidya, Muhammad Addin Rizaldi, Suratman Suratman +2
    KEMAS: Jurnal Kesehatan MasyarakatPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textEpidemiology & public healthDOAJ
  2. Advancing cardiac xenotransplantation: overcoming challenges and ethical considerations for clinical integration.
    Ahmed A Abdelrehim, Daniel J Hurst, W Hampton Gray +2
    Frontiers in transplantationPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textSurgery & anaesthesiaEurope PMC
  3. Global lessons learnt from the supply and logistics systems for COVID-19 vaccines: A rapid systematic review
    Sarah Nabia, Alba Vilajeliu, Victor Vega +8
    SSM - Health SystemsPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textEpidemiology & public healthDOAJ
  4. Neu5Gc and beyond: sialylation at the innate immune and thromboinflammatory interface of xenotransplantation
    Jae Young Kim
    Frontiers in transplantationPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textSurgery & anaesthesiaEurope PMC
  5. The Future of Dialysis and Kidney Xenotransplantation: Promise, Cost, and Barriers to Implementation
    Carmine Zoccali, Francesca Mallamaci, Giovanni Tripepi +1
    Journal of Clinical MedicinePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0General medicineCrossref

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{fischer2026logistics,
  title = {{Logistics of clinical xenotransplantation: from donor pig production to global organ distribution}},
  author = {Konrad Fischer and Joachim Denner and Ralf Reinhard Tönjes and Philipp Felgendreff and Axel Rahmel},
  journal = {Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/ti.2026.17326},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716711},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Logistics of clinical xenotransplantation: from donor pig production to global organ distribution
AU  - Konrad Fischer
AU  - Joachim Denner
AU  - Ralf Reinhard Tönjes
AU  - Philipp Felgendreff
AU  - Axel Rahmel
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/15
JO  - Transplant international : official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation
DO  - 10.3389/ti.2026.17326
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13716711
AB  - The shortage of transplantable organs remains one of the most significant unmet challenges in modern medicine. Despite advances in donor management, organ preservation, surgical techniques, and immunosuppression, organ demand continues to exceed supply worldwide. Xenotransplantation using genetically engineered porcine organs has emerged as a promising strategy to address this gap. Recent clinical pig-to-human heart and kidney transplantations have demonstrated the feasibility of clinical xenotransplantation and shifted attention from immunological barriers toward practical implementation. This review examines the logistical requirements for clinical xenotransplantation, with particular emphasis on donor herd management, biosafety, organ preservation technologies, and future distribution networks. The integration of donor production with advanced machine perfusion technologies may ultimately transform transplantation medicine from a donor-dependent emergency service into a predictable and scalable therapeutic platform.
SN  - 0934-0874
SN  - 1432-2277
ER  -