Successful Xenotransplantation Surgery: Genetically Engineered Pig Kidney Transplanted to Human Body
(Worthy News) – With organ donors always in short supply, an ongoing study has identified a possible alternative — animal organs. Researchers from New York University Langone Health say they have successfully completed a xenotransplantation — meaning taking an organ from one species and implanting it into another — not once, but twice. A team of surgeons used a genetically engineered pig kidney, transplanting it into a human body without suffering from rejection.
Dr. Robert Montgomery notes that both transplant recipients were actually deceased, with their bodies being kept alive using a ventilator. Nevertheless, the two surgeries proved that a specially designed kidney from another species could help provide living-saving organs to those in desperate need.
“We have been able to replicate the results from the first transformative procedure to demonstrate the continued promise that these genetically engineered organs could be a renewable source of organs to the many people around the world awaiting a life-saving gift,” says Dr. Montgomery in a university release. “There is much more work to do before we begin living human trials, but our preliminary findings give us hope.” [ Source: Fox (Read More…) ]