Key Sentence:
- US surgeons say that in a breakthrough transplant.
- They gave someone a pig kidney that they hope will eventually correct the shortage of donor organs.
The recipient died, meaning he was already on artificial life support with no prospect of recovery. The kidneys come from pigs that have been genetically modified to prevent the body from recognizing the organ as “foreign” and rejecting it. The work has not now been peer-reviewed or published, but there are plans to do so.
Experts say this is the most advanced experiment in the field to date. Similar tests have so far been carried out in primates but not in humans. However, using pigs for transplantation is not a new idea. Pig heart valves are widespread in humans.
And their organs match in terms of size for humans.
During a two-hour operation at Langone Health University Medical Center in New York, surgeons connected a donor pig’s kidney to a brain-dead recipient’s vein to see if the kidney would function adequately when turned on or rejected. Over the next two also a half days, they monitored the kidneys closely and performed various examinations and tests.
Principal investigator Dr. Robert Montgomery told the World Tonight program. We looked at a kidney that functions as a human kidney transplant which seems compatible because it does everything a normal human kidney does.
“It’s working normally and doesn’t seem to be getting rejected.”
In addition to the kidneys, surgeons also Human Kidney Transplants parts of the pig’s thymus. They believe this organ could help the human body reject the kidney in the long term by destroying isolated immune cells that might be fighting pig tissue. Heart transplant recipient, dr. Montgomery said more organs should be found soon for people on the waiting list, though he admits his controversial work.
“The traditional paradigm that one has to die for another to live will never live up to the task. “I understand the concern and would say that currently, around 40% of patients waiting for a transplant die before receiving a transplant. We use pigs as a food source; we use pigs for medical purposes – for valves, for medicine. So I don’t think it’s any different.”
He said initial testing was still available, and further testing was needed, but added. I think this gives us renewed confidence that it’s OK to move this to the clinic. Recipient families who wish to become organ donors permit to continue the operation.
US regulators have approved the use of genetically modified pig organs for this type of research.
Dr. Montgomery believes Human Kidney Transplants that the pig’s other organs – the heart, lungs, and liver – could be given to people who need transplants within a decade. Dr. Mariam Khosravi, a kidney and critical care physician working for the NHS in the UK, said: “Human-animal transplantation is something. We have been studying for decades, and it is exciting to see how this group is making this step forward. “
“While researchers and doctors continue to do their best to improve the chances of transplant patients. We all still need to make organ donation decisions and tell their families what they would like to do if organ donation is possible.”