Definition of "xenotransplantation" []

• The surgical transfer of cells, tissues, or especially whole organs from one species to another. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "They have kept pig lungs functioning with human blood, paving the way for animal-human transplants - called xenotransplantation - in as little as five years."
• "The hope, he believes, lies in xenotransplantation, essentially a process of growing organs from animals that are compatible with a recipient's immune system."
• "The early discussion of ethical issues raised by chimeras occurred under the heading of xenotransplantation, the use of non-human animals as a source of cells, tissues, or organs for transplantation into humans (Institute of Medicine 1996)."