Even though xenotransplantation has not been quite so successful yet, in the past few years many researchers have made giant efforts in the advancement of making this a more widely performed surgery. Most recently, pigs have become the animal to use in the xenotransplant process. Pigs are a good choice because they have the same blood types as humans and their organs are in close relation to human organs. Pigs are a a good potential donor animals because their organs are about the same size as human organs and work like human organs. Pigs are a lot safer to use than the chimpanzees and baboons that were considered to be a good organ donor in the past.
Pigs are at a low risk for carrying unknown diseases which is unlike the primate animals.
Pigs can also be raised in a controlled area and can be closely watched by researchers. Using pigs for medical purposes is not a new idea, so it is more accepted by people. For years pig heart valves have been used in surgery to replace human heart valves that have stopped working. Since using pigs has already been accepted in successful surgery, it is likely that their organs could also be used successfully in transplants. Although there are still some downfalls in the use of pig organs in humans, there have been various breakthroughs in making those barriers between species break.