US Witness Successful Pig Kidney Transplant Into 62-Year-Old
A United States hospital announced on Thursday that a transplant surgeon, Dr. Tatsuo Kawai, and his team successfully transplanted a pig kidney into a living human.
According to Massachusetts General Hospital, the genetically-edited pig kidney was transplanted into a 62-year-old man living with end-stage kidney disease during a four-hour surgery on Saturday.
The medical center noted that the procedure marked a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients.
The hospital said, “Nearly seven decades after the first successful kidney transplant, our clinicians have once again demonstrated our commitment to providing innovative treatments and to also help ease the burden of disease for our patients and others around the world.
“The operation was a milestone in xenotransplantation – transplantation of organs or tissues from one species to another as a potential solution to the worldwide organ shortage,”.
The kidney came from a pig that was genetically-edited to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans.
Scientists also inactivated porcine endogenous retroviruses in the pig donor to eliminate any risk of infection in humans.
The patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman is said to be recovering well and expected to be discharged from the hospital soon.
However, Dr. Kawai said the team believes the pig kidney will work for at least two years.
Credit: AP
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