Xenotransplantation: Benefits, risks and relevance of reproductive technology

Xenotransplantation from pigs provides a possible way around the shortage of human organs for transplantation. The highly inbred Westran line of pigs is genetically well characterised and known to lack endogenous retroviruses able to infect human cells. Like most inbreds, it has poor reproductive performance for which reproductive interventions would be desirable.