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Transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital: According to the hospital, the patient is recovering well
Photo: Michelle Rose / Massachusetts General Hospital
Many people around the world are waiting for donor organs. The demand for it is significantly greater than the supply. Animal organs are supposed to help close the gap. That is the hope.
Now doctors from the USA are reporting progress: for the first time, a genome-edited pig kidney could be transplanted into a living patient. This is an important milestone on the way to better availability of organs for patients, writes the Massachusetts General Hospital.
The operation took place on March 16 and lasted around four hours, according to a statement. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the experimental surgery as part of a specific program for patients with life-threatening diseases.
The patient is a 62-year-old man with end-stage renal disease. It is said that his transplanted kidney began to fail last year. The doctors then suggested a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. "I saw this as an opportunity not only to help myself, but also to give hope to the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive," he said, according to the statement. The hospital reports that the patient is recovering well and is expected to be discharged soon.
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Pork kidney on ice
Photo: Michelle Rose / Massachusetts General Hospital
Genetic modification necessary
More than 100,000 people are waiting for a donor organ in the USA alone, according to the statement, referring to the organization United Network for Organ Sharing. On average, about 17 of them would die every day. Kidneys, it is said, are the most commonly required organ for transplantation. A large increase in end-stage kidney disease is also expected in the coming years.
One problem with transplantation of animal organs is that they are usually immediately rejected by the human body. To prevent this, the animal organs are genetically manipulated. In the current case, the kidney came from a pig with 69 genetic modifications. Pig genes were removed and replaced with human genes.
“The real hero today is the patient,” said Joren Madsen, director of the transplant center. "The success of this groundbreaking operation, which was once considered unimaginable, would not have been possible without his courage and his willingness to embark on a journey into new medical territory."
A lot of research is being carried out around the world on the transplantation of animal organs – the so-called xenotransplantation. Last year, for example, a team managed to transplant a pig kidney into the body of a brain-dead man. There have also been experiments with pig hearts.
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