For the first time... the success of a pig kidney transplant in a human body

US scientists announced the success of transplanting kidneys from a genetically modified pig into a human recipient, and found that the organs produced urine and were not rejected during the days of experiment.

The operation was performed on a brain-dead patient who was a registered organ donor, and his family approved the research, according to the new study, which was published today, Thursday, January 20, in the American Journal of Transplantation.

According to Live Science

The University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham today announced the first reviewed research outlining the successful transplant of clinical-grade genetically modified pig kidneys into a brain-dead person, to replace the host's original kidneys.

These positive results illustrate how organ transplantation can address the worldwide organ shortage crisis.

For the first time, transplanted pig kidneys were taken from pigs that had been genetically modified with 10 major genetic modifications, making the kidneys suitable for transplantation into humans.

This process demonstrates the long-term feasibility of the procedure and how the transplant might work in the real world.

Pigs carry six additional genes taken from the human genome: four to help make each pig's organs look more familiar to the human immune system and two to prevent blood clots from forming.

After removing the kidneys from the donated pig, the team examined the organs.

Overall, the team noted, pig kidneys are similar to human kidneys, but differ in some ways.

After the transplant was performed, the scientists found that the transplanted kidney filtered blood, produced urine, and most importantly, was not immediately rejected.

The kidneys were able to survive until the end of the study, 77 hours after transplantation.

After transplantation, the right kidney initially showed "strong" urine production, while the left kidney produced significantly less urine.

The authors note that the reason for this difference is unknown, but it may be related to how each organ initially functions from the donor pig.

Compared to the right kidney, the left kidney spent more time at room temperature after being cut off from the pig's blood supply and before being placed on ice.

The authors wrote that further research is needed to find out how these factors might impair pig organ function in the recipient human.

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