Research has shown that a pig’s kidney in a human is still working more than a month later

A genetically modified pig kidney continues to function 32 days after being transplanted into a brain-dead human, a record and key step toward potentially solving the chronic shortage of organ donations, a US scientist announced Wednesday (August 16). the team.

This transplant took place at NYU Langone Hospital in New York on July 14 on a 57-year-old man who died of brain death and was put on life support after donating his body to science.

Responding to the Organ Donation Shortage

These animal-to-human organ transplants, also called xenografts, are being developed in hopes of solving the shortage of organ donations in a country where tens of thousands of patients are on transplant waiting lists.

These 32 days represent “genetically modified pig kidney has worked on humans for the longest time“Welcome the hospital in a press release, noting that it plans to continue the experiment for another month.

The kidneys of this man, Maurice Miller, were surgically removed and replaced with a genetically modified pig kidney so that the organ would not be immediately rejected by the human body. Doctors also transplanted a pig’s thymus, a gland that plays an important role in the immune response. The idea is that the thymus helps the recipient’s cells recognize the pig’s cells as their own, thus also helping to avoid rejection, Dr. Adam Griesemer, who was involved in the operation, explained at a news conference. The analysis of the role of the thymus will be carried out at the end of two months.

Anyway, it’s been more than a month.”kidney biopsy and tests show no signs of rejectionsaid Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of NYU Langone’s Transplant Institute. “Pig kidney replaces all important functions performed by human kidney“. According to him, this step should lead to a clinical trial on a living person.

“Unlimited Source of Kidneys”

This team has performed several xenotransplants in recent years, including the world’s first transplant of a pig kidney into a human in September 2021. The kidney then worked fine for a few days.

All of their trials so far have been fairly short, not allowing them to look at the possible rejection of the adaptive immune system that occurs 10 to 14 days after the presence of foreign tissue, explained Dr. Robert Montgomery. For the first time in the world, a living person was transplanted with a pig heart at one of the hospitals of the University of Maryland. But the man died two months after the operation.

For kidney transplant, many thought:that it would not be possible to keep the deceased that long after brain deathDr. Robert Montgomery said Wednesday. Functions normally provided by the brain, such as temperature regulation, heart rate, blood pressure, etc., have been replaced by the constant monitoring and care of the medical team.

100,000 Americans are on the waiting list

“It was a very difficult decision to makeMary Miller-Duffy, the deceased’s sister, who agreed to use her brother’s body for the study, said Wednesday. But “Although my brother cannot be there, I can confidently say that he would be proud that the tragedy of his death helped so many people’s lives.»

More than 100,000 Americans are currently on the organ transplant waiting list, with nearly 88,000 waiting for a kidney. Unfortunately, only a third of them actually receive a donation, while others become too sick to benefit from it or die waiting for one, according to Dr. Robert Montgomery.

“There simply aren’t enough organs for everyone who needs them.“, he announced. “I strongly believe that xenografts are a viable way to change that.“Because the pigs used it”are not cloned but bred, their numbers can be increased much more easily to provide an unlimited supply of kidneys for patients in need.“, he said.