xenotransplantation

/ zĕn′ə-trăns′plăn-tā′shən,zē′nə- /

1. The surgical transfer of cells, tissues, or especially whole organs from one species to another.

xenotransplantation

1. The transplantation of animal tissue or organs from one species to another.

Notes

With the shortage of human organs available for transplant, some work has been done to use pig and nonhuman primate tissues and organs instead. Some critics charge that this could lead to new, dangerous forms of disease if a pathogen that now only affects animals becomes communicable among humans.