First Xenotransplantation of Engineered Porcine Organs to Human Patients

Sourcing organs from genetically engineered pigs is one of the options under development for the production of organs on demand for patients who need transplants. Ethically, growing organs from cells would be a better option, but we live in a world in which animals are widely seen only as tools to be used and consumed; one might hope that our descendants will grow to be better than us in that regard. Major surgery is a high risk undertaking in older people, and the best of all options would be to find ways to spur controlled regrowth and repair in native tissues. That remains more of an aspirational goal at this point, and engineered pigs already exist. Following on from a test of kidney transplants from pigs to brain-dead patients, researchers recently successfully transplanted an engineered porcine heart into a conscious human patient. The first person to receive a transplanted heart from a genetically modified pig is doing well after the procedure. Physicians and scientists worldwide have for decades been pursuing the goal of transplanting animal organs into people, known as xenotransplantation. Last week's procedure marks the first time that a pig organ has been transplanted into a human who has a chance to survive and recover. In 2021, surgeons transplanted kidneys from the same line of genetically modified pigs into two legally dead people with no discernible brain function. The organs were not rejected, and functioned normally while the deceased recipients wer...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs