Two pig kidneys genetically edited to prevent rejection by the immune system have been transplanted into a brain-dead man in the US as a first step towards treating patients
Two pig kidneys genetically engineered to prevent rejection by the immune system have been transplanted into a man who was brain dead as a first step towards treating patients. The kidneys weren’t rejected during the 77 hours that the experiment, carried out in the US, lasted.
“This game-changing moment [is] a major milestone in the field of xenotransplantation, which is arguably the best solution to the organ shortage crisis,” surgeonat the University of Alabama at Birmingham said in a statement. “We have… obtained the safety and feasibility data necessary to begin a clinical trial.”
The experiment took place on 30 September, but the details were revealed in a paper published today. The kidneys came from the same line of genetically modified pigs as the heart . While Bennett got the pig heart because there were no other options for him, the kidney transplant was done as an initial safety test only.The recipient, Jim Parsons, was a registered organ donor, but none of his organs was suitable for transplantation. His family gave permission for his body to be kept alive on a ventilator so the study could be done. His own kidneys were removed and replaced with the genetically engineered pig kidneys.
“Jim would have wanted to save as many people as he could with his death, and if he knew he could potentially save thousands and thousands of people by doing this, he would have had no hesitation,” his ex-wife Julie O’Hara said in a statement.
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