Currently, about 16,000 people are registered in Japan waiting for organ donations, although only about 3 percent receive them each year.
Amid the struggle against donor shortages in Japan, PorMedTec Co. announced that it had successfully bred three genetically modified pigs for the first time for use in human organ and cell transplants. This was reported by Kyodo News.
However, the company emphasized that the safety of such cross-species transplantation will be investigated in subsequent animal testing.
The team, which also includes members of the US biotech company eGenesis, raised pigs using cells provided by the US company in September with ten different genes modified to fight the body’s rejection of man.
The fertilized eggs, obtained in October using somatic cell cloning technology to create genetically identical individuals, were transferred into the uterus of a surrogate mother pig. Three piglets were born by caesarean section.
Once they are confirmed to be growing, the piglets will be transferred to scientific institutions in Japan for use in organ transplant research in other animals, such as monkeys.
It was previously reported that in the United States, for the first time in history, doctors transplanted two pig kidneys into one person.
Source: korrespondent
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