We have reached a new border in organ transplantation. In a medical first, scientists announced this week that they managed to keep a genetically modified pork liver inside a human body – at least for a short time.
Researchers in China have detailed their realization study published today in nature. They transplanted the liver into a death receiver of the brain, where he was able to survive and even perform basic functions for more than a week. The results are the last to suggest that animal transplantation to human, or xenotransplantation, can one day become a viable option for the many people who need given organs.
There are more than 100,000 Americans Currently on the waiting list For an organ, with a new person added every eight minutes. However, only 48,000 transplants take place each year, creating a significant deficit. It is estimated that 17 people die every day while waiting for the transplantation list.
Scientists have explored various ways to extend the available organ basin or lengthen people’s survival while waiting for one, such as artificial devices or xenotransplantation. But it is only recently that the latter has become an achievable reality, thanks to the progress of genetic publishing technology.
These advances allowed scientists to create pigs with organs more compatible with human biology, thus reducing the chances of rejection. A common assembly, for example, eliminates the capacity of a pork to produce an alpha-far, a sugar that the human body does not make.
As with others Early xenotransplantation testsThe researchers carried out the procedure on a death receiver of the brain which the family agreed to help. They transplanted a liver from a miniature bama pig – a breed commonly used in research – which had six gene modifications, while the recipient received immune -removing drugs to avoid rejection. They watched both the beneficiary and the body for 10 days, ending the study at the request of the family.
Things seemed to go well during the experience. The researchers, including a team from the Xijing hospital of the fourth military medical university, found no sign of immediate rejection, while the liver remained functional during the 10 whole days. Within two hours of transplantation, he began to produce bile and maintain an acceptable blood flow.
Last year, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania reported That they managed to attach a giving pig liver to a death receiver from the brain via a machine outside the body, keeping the organ alive for three days. But the researchers note that theirs is the first study evaluated by peers to document the transplantation of good faith of a pig liver published by the gene in a person.
“It’s a great success,” said Lin Wang study researcher on Tuesday at a press conference held on Tuesday.
That said, we are still far from seeing livers derived from pork and other organs to become commonplace. In recent years, scientists have started to transplant kidney and pork hearts as a last resort treatment for receivers who are also sick in terminal phase. But only two recipients are still alive, with Towana Looney, 53, being currently the longest recipient in life at around four months (she received a Pork kidney transplant At the end of November 2024). More important clinical trials should start very soon, but even in case of success, external scientists have warned that it can take a long time before the organs derived from animals can approach the survival of human organs.
However, xenotransplantation could become an important option even before this high objective is achieved. Scientists note that the liver of the recipient has remained intact all the time. It is therefore possible that the pork edicts’ organs with genes can be used as a kind of bridging therapy for people on the transplantation waiting list or for people whose organs need time to recover before returning functional.