11.   Several years ago, Steinberg talked of a day when animal organs could be transplanted into humans, without using powerful drugs to suppress the immune system.

12.   That could include the gene for a marker on cells of animal organs that triggers a violent response from the human immune system.

13.   That includes the feeding of ground-up animal organs, called offal, as a protein supplement to cattle, hogs and poultry.

14.   The one driving force behind the quest to transplant animal organs is the great shortage of human ones.

15.   The panelists, noting that six months is the longest any recipient of an animal organ has survived, said the proposed experiment had a low chance of success.

16.   The research director will be Henk Schuurman, the key scientist at Imutran Ltd., a Novartis subsidiary in England that has developed animal organ models for transplants.

17.   They also are close to using gene therapy to allow the transplantation of animal organs into humans without fear of rejection.

18.   Thousands of people might benefit from animal organs.

19.   Transplanting animal organs into humans, should it come into wider use, would also be an avenue for infection.

20.   Wright treated the patient with an experimental natural anticoagulant called heparin, isolated from animal organs.