We see waves of growth in xenotransplantation.
Those underserved from the current organ shortage will be the first wave.
Those excluded by strict waitlist criteria will follow.
As benefits begin to outweigh risks, those who are in the early stages of organ failure can be transplanted.
Using CDC kidney disease data as as an example, there are ~100,000 people on the waiting list now and about 25,000 kidney transplants yearly. There are about 130,000 new cases of end stage renal disease (ESRD) yearly that need transplantation or dialysis to survive.
This underserved group is the first wave.
About another 600,000 people suffer from ESRD and are chronically using dialysis to stay alive but don’t qualify under the current stringent rules to maximize use of the precious organ donated from a human.
This neglected group is the second wave.
Independent of affliction, the obvious answer is organ replacement. Expanded organ transplantation will help to reduce the complexity and cost of today’s diagnostic-treatment healthcare empire and help to ensure better health available to all. Even those who are at the early stages of organ failure will be able to get an organ before they become deathly ill, and often too ill to be transplanted.