Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have achieved a significant breakthrough by successfully transplanting a genetically modified pig kidney into a human recipient.
According to the Associated Press, the experimental procedure yielded positive results for a limited time period. In a pioneering effort, doctors replaced both kidneys of a brain-dead man with a single kidney from a genetically altered pig. Remarkably, the transplanted organ exhibited compatibility with the recipient’s body, functioning normally for over a month.
Dr Robert Montgomery, Director of NYU Langone Transplant Institute, expressed optimism about the viability of the modified pig kidney, stating, “Is this organ really going to work like a human organ? So far it’s looking like it is.”
Parallel to this success, the University of Alabama Birmingham released a peer-reviewed study showcasing the effectiveness of a pig kidney with ten genetic modifications. This genetically altered organ functioned optimally within another brain-dead patient for an entire week, as reported by The New York Times.
Dr Jayme Locke, a contributor to the study, highlighted the pig kidneys’ ability to efficiently eliminate waste products, such as creatinine, necessary to support human physiological processes.
Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of animal organs into humans, is not a new concept. However, only ten instances of such experimentation involving gene-modified pig organs have been recorded. Past attempts, like the 2021 case at the University of Maryland involving a gene-modified pig heart transplant, have faced challenges, including organ failure and viral contamination.
Looking ahead, the focus is on progressing to clinical trials involving live patients. Discussions are underway with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pave the way for this critical next step. The significance of these breakthroughs cannot be understated, given the growing number of individuals with end-stage kidney disease.
With approximately 800,000 adults in the US affected by this condition, and over 100,000 individuals awaiting kidney transplants, the success of genetically modified pig organs in human transplantation could offer a promising solution to address the organ shortage crisis.
