6-4.4.1.3 Blood replacement:

Functional human blood proteins including haemoglobin were produced using transgenic swine. Further improvement of this strategy is required to achieve desirable level of expression without any health risk to the animal and the recipient (human).

6-4.4.1.4 Xenotransplantation of organs:

Organ transplantation has tremendous importance in medical science which is a critical life saving option in several cases. The shortage of human organs for transplantation leads to the development of xenograft techniques. There are certain pre-requisites for successful xenotransplantation:

• Overcome immunological rejection (called as “graft rejection”) of donor organs in the recipient body.
• Prevent transmission of pathogens from donor to recipient

Transgenic animals (pigs) have been developed to achieve reduced immunological rejection and better compatibility. 

6-4.4.2 Agricultural application:

Transgenic animal has been developed to provide various biopharming applications in agriculture. Few examples of the applications are discussed below-

6-4.4.2.1 Improvement of economically important traits in livestock:

• Transgenic pig bearing human metallothionein promote/porcine growth hormone gene showed better growth rate, feed conversion, body fat/muscle ratio etc, thus improving the productivity.
  
  
• Transgenic pigs having human insulin-like growth factor-I had more lean muscle and about ~30% less fat; thus improving the commercial significance of these transgenics.
  
  
• Transgenic poultry animals were developed to increase the healthiness and nutrient quotient of meat and other products (less saturated fat, lactose level etc.).