Medical Innovation Practice Test

1. What things have to match for a person to be able to receive an organ transplant?

Blood and HLA types.

2. How likely is a person a match for both blood and HLA? Explain.

There are only 8 main blood types, so blood type matching is not that uncommon. However, HLA matching is rare because there are tens of thousands of HLA alleles. 

3. Can a person still receive an organ donation even if they aren't a 100% HLA match? Explain.

Yes. Even if the donor and recipient aren't a 100% match, the recipient can receive the organ. The organ will slowly degrade over time due to the immune system of the recipient slowly rejecting the donated organ because it is not a 100% match. Eventually, the recipient will need another organ transplant after a few years. 100% HLA match is nearly impossible unless they are identical twins.

4. What is xenotransplantation and how can it beneficial to humans?

Xenotransplantation is using a different species' organ and editing the genes of the organ cells to express human HLA antigens so that there is a smaller chance of rejection and immune reaction. Since pigs are slaughtered for their meat and skin, the organs such as kidneys can be used in xenotransplantation. There is a larger number of pig kidneys available for use compared to human kidneys.

5. Compare and contrast Ghost Organs and Bioprinting.

Ghost organs use donated organs, from either an animal or human, that have all the cellular components removed except the protein scaffold and structural components. The shell of the organ is used as a scaffold/template to grown stem cells that can be manipulated into growing into whatever organ cell type needed. This ensures the proper shape of the organ such as a heart is grown from the stem cells. 

Bioprinting uses a 3D printer that prints the shape of an organ such as a heart. The scaffold or structure of the heart is printed using organic material such as cellulose and then stem cells are added to the structure to grow into a heart. Since the stem cells come from the person that needs the organ, they will be a 100% HLA match and have no rejection. 

6. The apples slices we used in the lab would be an example of what type of regenerative medicine?

Ghost organs.

7. What is bioprospecting and how can it be beneficial to us?

Bioprospecting is the processes of exploring new or not well known environments to search for organic compounds that can be used in medicine. Since we have never been to the bottom of the ocean or all parts of the Amazon Rainforest, it is possible that there are organic compounds yet to be discovered that can be used in medicine. Ex. The organic compounds in some snake venoms are used to make drugs for high blood pressure and heart disease.

8. What was the purpose of the standard curve and tubes you created in the Bioprospecting Lab?

To determine the concentration of the organic compound of your sponge tubes.

9. Explain how the Cause of Death and Manner of Death relationship to each other.

The cause of death is the factor that led to the death such as knife wound, slipping and hitting your head, car accident, ebola, etc. The manner of death is the classification of the circumstance of death: natural causes, accidental, suicide, homicide, or undetermined. 

The cause of death explains the circumstances or manner of the death. For example, a person slipping on a banana peel and hitting their head on the sidewalk and dying would be the explanation of the accidental death. The manner of death being "accident" and the cause of death being "a person slipping on a banana peel and hitting their head on the sidewalk"