Xenotransplantation and the Future of Medicine

Xenotransplantation is a concept which originated a century back. It involves the transport of animal tissues and organs into human beings if there is need to replace a certain organ or to cure a disease. Back then it was considered morally provocative to commit such scientific experiments but now this practice is more in process.

Nowadays, it is considered to be an ‘efficient method’ to solve the critical problem of organ unavailability. Patients today need a considerate amount of organ Transplantations, kidney being the highest; adding to the list are Liver, Heart, Lungs, and Brain.

The Inadequate Availability of Human Donors

  • One human can save up to 8 lives but the person has to be dead in order to donate.
  • Not everyone decides to donate and most importantly not everybody is healthy enough to give their organs. This challenge creates a huge problem and it is one of the major concerns in the field of contemporary medicine.
  • The department of health faces a grave challenge to tackle the issue of organ failure which is not a big problem if an organ is present beforehand to replace the damaged one.

The Background of Xenotransplantation

The demand for animal tissues and organs is increasing day by day. Lately, a few experiments have been carried out in the US and Europe. These trials are largely used for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease using Pig fetal neural cells. A similar action was being processed in New Zealand, which, after some altercations is now being conducted in Mexico.

The First Successful Transplantation

Xenotransplantation started in 1963 with the successful transplantation of a chimpanzee kidney into thirteen humans. Only one out of the 13 patients survived for almost nine months and died of a different cause. These kinds of experiments have been conducted largely over the past 50 years and all have received mixed outcomes.

Obstacles circling Xenotransplantation

There were some key obstacles that came to light during the research and experimentation. Below are a vast number of challenges that include infectious disease dangers and the requirement of monitoring for longer periods of time.

  1. Organs of Primates

Animal tissues of Primates are eluded for these kinds of trials to avoid the risk of viruses, the reason being their close relationship to human anatomy.

  1. Failure to Recognize Animal Tissue

The main obstacle founded during animal biological research was that human body refused to recognize animal tissues and attacked them, considering them as ‘foreign’ and dangerous.

  1. No Trivial Recovery

Another concern is when operated; the human body did not heal completely and in some cases showed little signs of significant success.

  1. Campaigns against Xenotransplantation

Beyond all this, animal activists are always in front to raise their voice against using animals for human organ failure treatment.

Advantages of Xenotransplantation

According to Animal Biological Research, a large population of people ignores the fact that there is plenty of uses and advantages of inserting animal tissues or organs. Apart from treating organ failure, it can be used to cure diabetes and permanently eliminating some life-threatening diseases.

Xenotransplantation as a Dire Necessity

Modern medicine needs to expand the possibility of using Animal tissues as a source of transplantation because with changing times, it is going to become a pivotal need. With a limited number of human donors and Healthy organs, the practice of using animal tissues will soon become the first priority of most medical personnel.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

Human Biologicals Explained

Single Donors give a countless amount of either their blood or its components like plasma, serum, and platelets. Pooled, otherwise random donation occur when two or more humans combine to donate the components of blood.

Components of Human Blood

Human blood is composed of red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma, and serum. The difference between white blood cells and red blood cells is the presence of hemoglobin in the former and absence of it in the latter. Plasma, a yellow liquid has the greatest volume in blood i.e. 55%, while serum has the lowest one.

Plasma and serum are usually used for different tests; however, both are further used for additional purposes. Plasma separation from blood takes more time than the separation of serum. Also, in case of plasma, the division requires anticoagulants.

Pooled and Single Serum

Serum does not have coagulating factors. The serum, a tiny leftover in blood, is collected from single human donors and then pooled under proper scientific regulations. The minimum age to donate is 18. Single Human Serum that contains antibodies is used for the diagnosis and treatment of many infectious diseases as well as immunotherapy.

Pooled and Single Plasma

Pooled Plasma consists of changed plasma, acquired from more than 30 human donors. Pooling is a phenomenon in which plasma that is seperated from human blood is donated by a number of human donors is brought together. There are many companies that purify Human Plasma and turn it into life-saving drugs (that must be prescribed by licensed doctors) for the treatment of cancers and immune disorders as well.

During a plasma aphaeresis donation, the blood is collected by a machine which separates the plasma, red blood cells, platelets, and returns the red blood cells and/or platelets back to the donor.

Human Pooled plasma is used for the treatment of patients who have decreased blood cells. Included in the modern vital drug list by World health organization, fresh frozen plasma is used in hemophilia B. It is also used to treat individuals who genetically lack the components that are necessary for blood clotting.

Pooled and Single Platelets

In case of platelets, Single donation occurs when a single person donates blood, goes through a process of aphaeresis where the machine separates the platelets and sends the blood back to the donor. This series is done several times and the required amount of platelets are obtained from one single donor.

Sometimes it becomes vital to collect blood from many donors. After collection, platelets from each donor are combined for further use. These are termed as pooled platelets. This method is highly effective and fast than pooled donor where one unit of a single donor is equivalent to 6-8 units of pooled donor platelets.

Single donors also have a lesser chance of carrying other components such as Red Blood Cells. They are often collected against any special need that is why they have a smaller chance of getting wasted. Moreover, platelets from single donors can be transfused to any blood group.

Innovative Research is a US based, worldwide distributor of a vast array of animal and human biological products ranging from human serum to cyno monkey plasma. You can find out more about these valuable research materials by visiting our website at https://www.innov-research.com or by calling us direct at 888.660.6866.

Assortment of Animal Biologicals

There are various kinds of animal biologicals that are collected for different reasons. Some are used to cure diseases while some specimens are preserved for future use. Amongst the various types of biologicals, the ones most commonly collected are animal serum & blood products, raw animal biological products, chicken tissues & organs.

Necessary Conditions to Collect Animal Biologicals

Before the collection of animal biologicals, there are a few conditions that must be met:

  • Animal Biological Collection from a Healthy Organism
  • It is important to confirm that the animal is healthy and free from any kind of contamination.
  • It is vital to remember that specimens should never be collected from sick animals.
  • It is also critical to check everything regarding parasitic contamination as it affects the integrity of the tissue’s sample.
  • After the supervision of antibiotics, biologicals are collected within 21 days.
  • The animal should be free from any kind of stress. Quality of a sample from an animal under stress raises chances for the sample quality to be compromised.
  • In order to study certain diseases like cancer diabetes, endocrine disease, and Alzheimer’s, biologicals are preferably collected from genetically modified animals.
  • It is recommended to collect the samples using methods that cause minimum pain to the animal.
  • Site Cleaning

Health measures must be kept in mind and maintained before and during the procedure. After collection, the place should be thoroughly cleaned. The site must be properly disinfected and proper equipment should be used. The site should be disinfected using 70% alcohol. Used syringes must be properly disposed of.

  • Animal Biologicals That Need to Be Frozen

All specimens/materials collected that are intended to be frozen must be transported on ice to the nearby lab for further examination. In case of risk of virus, it should be frozen in a store where temperatures are maintained under 20-degree Celsius.

Small animals must be stored at a moderate temperature for about 5 hours. For blood sample collections, various chemicals are used that are termed as anti-coagulants; sodium herapin, Sodium EDTA, Alsevers Solution etc. are a few.

Chicken red blood cells are collected from the wings veins of three different chickens and then mixed with anticoagulants. These chickens are housed separately from other chickens.

Use of Forceps

Forceps should be used to preserve small insects.

Collection of Widely used Growth Supplement

The widely used development supplement for cell culture media is fetal bovine serum. It has the highest rate of fast progression of embryonic growth. When used at appropriate concentrations, it supplies many defined and undefined components. These components have shown to satisfy specific metabolic requirements for the culture of cells.

Fetal Bovine Serum is collected in a sterile plastic bag and is allowed to clot. After separation from the clot, it is frozen. The crucial factor is controlling the initial collection to preserve the quality of final serum product, out of which only raw material is approved for production.

Tissue Compilation

Tissues from different animals are preserved using 10% buffered formalin. For longer periods of time they are refrigerated under minus 100 degrees and for shorter periods they are kept at 40 degrees Celsius. These preserved specimens can be used later for long-term issues relating to the health of different species.

Innovative Research is a US based, worldwide distributor of a vast array of animal and human biological products ranging from human serum to cyno monkey plasma.  You can find out more about these valuable research materials by visiting our website at https://www.innov-research.com or by calling us direct at 888.660.6866.

What Do Researchers Use Animal and Human Cell Cultures for in Research?

Both human and animal cells are important for research but many people may not know the uses of these cell cultures. To get an idea of their specific functions in research, these are the potential uses and studies.

Human Cell Cultures

The reason why human cells are used for research and testing is that they are more useful than animal tests when it comes to understanding human diseases and biology. Cell cultures from humans can be used to screen cancer treatments, test drugs, and even grow specific cells. The primary advantage of human cell cultures is that it allows researchers to simply a system or disease and focus on a small number of variables.

One example of human cell cultures and their use is studying cancer. Researchers can harvest cells from living or deceased donors who have developed cancer and see how those specific cancer cells grow, how the cells react to certain treatments, fuel sources for cells, and many other uses. Human cells are used to understand physiology and disease as well as a controlled early way to study treatments for specific diseases and conditions on a cellular level.

Animal Cell Cultures

Since animals share a significant amount of genetic material with humans, they can also be valuable for research. The use of animals in research is designed to help diagnose and treat diseases that affect both animals and humans. Chimpanzees, for example, share 99% of NDA with humans and mice also share a significant amount. Mice have a short life span so researchers can use harvest cells from several generations of mice to determine how genetic diseases change. Additionally, researchers can easily control the environment around animals which is more difficult to do with humans.

One example of research using animal cell cultures is studying HIV/AIDS. Researchers are still learning how HIV functions by studying its related disease in monkeys. The animal version of the disease is Simian Immunodeficiency Virus although chimpanzees can carry the disease without it being fatal. Researchers will culture cells from the animals, compare it to the HIV that affects humans and use to gain a greater understanding of the disease with a focus on potential treatments.

These are just a few examples of the numerous uses that cell cultures play in research. Both human and animal cell cultures are amazingly valuable for studies and provide a way to understand and treat conditions in a minimally invasive but extremely effective method.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

Research Performed Using Human Biologicals

Healthcare research can be categorized into three main types: research on humans, research on human biological materials and lastly research on personal data. Human biologicals are defined as plasma, IgG protein, serum, whole blood, organs, part of organs, cells, tissues and even components of such material from living and/or dead persons. This means that any physical material from the human body may it be a fluid, protein or even whole blood are considered human biological materials in a sense. Human Materials such as plasma, human fluids, and whole blood are some of collection of human material that can be used in research.

The use of human biological material has raised ethical questions of recent. Some might think that since some of these materials are no longer part of a body like deficient plasma, thus do not present any problem. That is not usually the case. Ethical issues arise because these are human materials implying a connection with someone. Some might claim ownership of “their” material and thus have the right to decide for them. Others have interests in safeguarding human materials. These principal issues relate to the possibility of identifying the individuals.

With the help of modern biotechnological methods, it is possible to trace back to the individuals provided that the individualizing characteristics are not removed from the human material. This, however, can create problems for the individuals. For example, if blood tests conducted show a genetic disposition to a particular disease and such information is not handled properly by rules on confidentiality thus violating privacy of the individual donor.

A research biobank is a collection of the human biologicals that are used in a research project or that will be used by researchers in future research projects. They are provided for medical tests, diagnostics, and treatment. The collection, storage, and processing of these human materials in the biobank should be carried in an ethically responsible manner. Privacy is given priority with regards to principles of human dignity and human right.

The use of human biologicals is crucial for health-related purposes such as diagnostics, treatment, and even teaching purpose. Therefore, it is important the use of these materials should be done in a responsible, ethical manner. The use of these human biological should be in accordance to rules and laws such as the Health Research Act and the Treatment BioBank Act. The use of human biologicals in medical and healthcare research should respect human rights and human dignity and should never discriminate the person from whom the biological materials originate.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

Animal Biologicals Collection for Research Purposes

Whole blood, serum, plasma, red blood cells, hormones, body fluids, IgG proteins, glands, organs, and tissues form part of animal biologics that are used for research purposes. They are collected in order to make sure that they are free from any kind of contamination. The factors that determine whether the collected animal biologicals are of high quality are the animal source, the process of collection and their storage.

The animals that are free from antibiotics and parasites are used for collecting biologicals. It is ensured that the water and food given to these animals are certified and free from any kind of contamination. The mere absence of diseases is not enough; the animals must be healthy in all respects. Biologicals are never sourced from diseased or sick animals. Further, only antibiotics certified by a veterinarian are administered to the animals. In addition, biologicals are collected only after 21 days following the administration of antibiotics. This is because antibiotic contamination tends to skew results and limit the use of the biologicals. Parasitic contamination, on the other hand, affects the tissue samples’ integrity.

The biologicals are collected when the animal is not experiencing any kind of stress. This is because stress impacts the sample quality. For certain specific studies related to endocrine disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s, biologicals are collected from genetically modified or pregnant animals. It is ensured that the samples are collected causing least pain to the animal.

Research regulations stipulate that aseptic conditions are to be maintained during the process of collection of samples. They include the restraint of animals, collection site disinfection, and use of proper equipment. The collection site is shaved and then disinfected using 70 percent alcohol prior to and after blood sample collection. Disposable syringes are made use of and the used ones are appropriately disposed of immediately. Biologicals may be collected from abattoirs prior to slaughter or from donor animals in farms.

It is better to use a vacutainer for the collection of blood samples. Anticoagulants are not used when collecting serum for serological analysis. For whole blood sample collection, only specified anti-coagulants (Sodium Heparin, Sodium EDTA, Alsevers Solution, or Sodium Citrate) are used. The properties of different anticoagulants are different and are, therefore, used depending on the laboratory procedures to be carried out.

Tissue harvest is started soon after euthanasia. This is to ensure that there is no bacterial contamination because of intestinal seepage. Organs are observed at the site itself prior to collection of tissue samples. Tissues are preserved using 10 percent buffered formalin. Alternatively, tissues are refrigerated at 40 degrees Celsius for short periods or frozen at -100 degrees Celsius for longer periods.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

5 Ethics To Follow In An Experiment

There are a number of procedures and standards that are used when carrying out research using human and animal biologicals including plasma, serum, IgG, whole blood, red blood cells, and more.  It is reasonable to expect that every researcher holds on to an ethical code when performing research on their hunt for results using human and animal biological products. Ethical considerations are to be followed in order to successfully perform and complete in the experimental analysis on lab suppliers and human and animal biological materials.

  1. Confidentiality

The researcher should preserve the data gathered from the study subjects. The report should not contain any personal details about the subjects, and the researcher should not communicate with others regarding the personal subject information. Unless there are some sorts of permission for sharing the information, you should not share the data.

  1. Commitments

Since the sponsoring company will provide financial support for developing the analysis, so they will be committed to the users, society, study subjects and professionals. Hence, the researcher must not reject any data which may lead to adverse conclusions and interpretations will go wrong for the sponsoring company.

  1. Recording must be monitored

Use of hidden cameras, microphones, tape-recorders or observers during the research without the subjects’ permission is strictly prohibited. In the same way, the researcher must not have any personal communication with the subjects, except in the situations of animal research.

  1. The study subjects awareness

So the researcher must explain the experimental procedures thoroughly and the risk involved in the experiment must also brief to the volunteer. It is necessary to inform the subjects about the need for the research. If the research is for children or animals, the researcher must get the informed consent from parents or the right animal organization.

  1. Giving credits

The researcher must also give credits for those who have helped or guided for tool construction, data collection, data analysis or preparation of the research report.

Thus, make sure that you follow ethics of research while doing your research on lab suppliers and human and animal biological materials.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

 

Blood Plasma – A Necessity for a Healthy Body

Plasma is mostly referred to as the forgotten component of the blood because it apparently has no functions of itself but nobody can imagine what a body without it would actually be like. ‘Human Biologicals’ has been a field of immense interest for biologists.  Over the years they have concluded just how essential blood plasma really is.

What is Blood Plasma?

In layman terms, plasma is the transporter of every component that is formed or released into your blood and makes up more than half of the constituency of human blood. All the blood cells, platelets and enzymes are transported to their designated locations and the systems inside the body through plasma and it basically acts as the force behind all transmission in the circulatory system.

How Does It Work?

Blood plasma is a straw shade of yellow color if all constituents are separated from a portion of it and has the most basic yet the most significant working inside your body.

The nutrients such as proteins, hormones and all other micro-organisms that join the flow of blood inside your body are transmitted to their respective designated areas thanks to plasma. It may not have as much biological significance as what it carries, but without it the circulation of those important bits would not have been possible.

Relation to Health

Before you feel that you are capable of donating human plasma proteins to those in need you need to be aware of how healthy you are. Blood drives are concerned with collecting as much fresh plasma as possible because problems and diseases related to human biologicals are often solved by the transfusion of plasma.

There is a certain standard of salts, antibodies and immunities you need in your blood plasma for it not to impact your health adversely. An example can be of Sodium, which has a normal concentration range of 135-145 mEq/L, and anything above or below can be dangerous. Immune disorders and other such chronic diseases can also be dealt with because components such as the human plasma proteins are dependent on blood types, and they can be clinically concentrated or diluted depending on the need of the patient at hand. All in all, it is important that the breakdown of our blood plasma meets the standards identified by health organizations in the world.

Donation of Blood Plasma

If you are an individual who feels privileged to belong to the class of society that can afford donating blood plasma because your health and hygiene standards have been quite incredible, then you are indeed a blessing for society. If you clear the screening process that checks the feasibility of your blood being donated, and you know it will not cost your body a lot, do so by all means.

AB blood type is in most demand because there are only 4% of people who have that blood type, and the plasma is universal (usable for anyone). Please visit your nearest non-commercial or governmental entities which deal with plasma donations and present yourself for a great cause.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

Research Performed Using Animal Serum

Serum is the fluid segment of the blood that is not clotted containing the red and white cells and platelets. It’s the coagulation that makes the difference between serum and plasma.

Animal serum are regularly utilized as a part of cell culture research, serum provide proteins, nutrients, attachment factors, trace element, growth factors, and hormones which helps in the development of the cells. In spite of the fact that FBS (fetal bovine serum) is the most regularly utilized serum, numerous serums are also accessible. Serum has been in use for quite a long time in cell culture since it gives a close representative of what cells would obtain in the body. The major component of serum for health and growth include albumin, transferring, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and different other nutritive and protective factors.

Cell culture is a strategy by which cell behavior can be studied independent of the whole organism. In biological research cells are taken from a plant or animal and grown under controlled conditions. The process of cell culture involves removing a cell from a plant or animal and their subsequent growth in a serum. The cell might be removed from the tissue directly and disaggregated by an enzyme or mechanical means before development in a serum.

Cell culture can be comprehensively classified into three distinct categories: Primary cell culture which includes the extraction of cells from the tissue and processed to establish under culture conditions in a serum. Secondary cell culture which result from the Sub-culture of primary cells while cell line is produced from a solitary cell and has a uniform generic composition. The cell line can be either finite or continuous cell line.

Cell culture has been used as a major tool in biological research by giving excellent model system for studying the biochemistry and physiology of cells, the impacts of drugs and toxic compounds on the cells and so on. It is also used in drug screening and the development of biological compounds on a large scale. Other uses of animal serum for cell culture include the following:

Cancer Research: cells can be exposed to radiation, chemicals and viruses to make them cancerous. However, the mechanism and cause for cancer and the altered pathways can be studied with the aid of animal serum. It can likewise be used for determination of effective drugs for cancerous cells. The side effect of cancer treatments (chemotherapy and irradiation) on normal cells can be studied in this context as well.

Virology: Isolation, growth and development cycles and the detection of viruses can be studied. Cells cultures are also essential when studying the mode of infection.

Toxicity Testing and drug screening: Cell cultures are used in the study of cytotoxicity of new drugs (to study the effect and safe dosage) as well as drug carriers (nanoparticles). It is helpful for the synthesis or production of different biomolecules at an industrial scale. This is especially helpful in the pharmaceutical industry. Different research projects on cell-based therapeutic products, using cell culture are being developed. Animal cell culture is used in place of animal models to test the effects of new drugs, cosmetics and chemicals. They are also used to determine the permissible dosage of new drugs.

Vaccine Production: In the production of viruses, cell cultures are mainly used, the viruses are then used to produce vaccines for diseases such as (polio, rabies, chicken pox, measles and hepatitis).

Genetic Engineering Proteins: Genetically important proteins such as monoclonal antibodies, hormones, insulin and many more are produced commercially with the aid of cell culture.

Prenatal diagnosis: Amniotic fluid from pregnant women is extracted and the cells are cultured for the study of chromosomes abnormalities, genes using karyotyping, and used in the early detection of fetal disorders.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.

Standards of Human and Animal Biologicals

When carrying out research about humans and animals, you will discover that they both operate within procedures and established standards. However, the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research reports that the human research environment can be inefficient, operate with an imperfect process and even abuse some of their human subjects during research. No similar, principled and comprehensive effort has addressed the use of animals in research.

Because of this, almost every researcher holds on to an ethical code of conduct for performing their hunt for the results. There are a few ethical considerations to be followed for successful completion of experimental analysis on lab suppliers and human and animal biological materials.

  1. Confidentiality

The researcher should preserve the data gathered from the study subjects. The report should not contain any personal details about the subjects, and the researcher should not communicate with others regarding the personal subject information. Unless there are some sorts of permission for sharing the information, you should not share the data.

  1. Commitments

Since the sponsoring company will provide financial support for developing the analysis, they will be committed to the users, society, study subjects and professionals. Hence, the researcher must not reject any data which may lead to adverse conclusions and because of that interpretations will go wrong for the sponsoring company.

  1. Recording must be monitored

Use of hidden cameras, microphones, tape-recorders or observers during the research without the subjects’ permission is strictly prohibited. In the same way, the researcher must not have any personal communication with the subjects, except in the situations of animal research.

  1. The study subjects must be aware of all the procedures

The researcher must explain the experimental procedures and the risk involved thoroughly to the volunteer. It is also necessary to inform the subjects about the need for the research. If the research requires the use of children or animals, the researcher must get the informed consent from parents or the correct animal organization.

  1. Giving credits

The researcher must also give credits for those who have helped with tool construction, data collection, data analysis or preparation of the research report.

Thus, make sure that you follow ethics of research while doing your research on lab suppliers and human and animal biological materials.

Learn more about Innovative Research and our high quality research materials including human, plant, and animal biological, ELISA & Assay Kits, proteins, antibodies, cell cultures, blood, serum, plasma, and more.  More information can be found at https://www.innov-research.com/ or by calling 248.896.0145.