Surgeons at New York University have reached another milestone in making pig-to-human organ transplants a reality.
Scientists are still trying to figure out the most optimal way to make pig organs safe for human transplantation. Some transplants have used organs from pigs with up to 10 different genetic modifications, for instance. But for this latest procedure, the NYU team used a pig with only one big change: an inability to produce alpha-gal, a sugar naturally found in most mammals, with humans being an important exception.
Given the results, the team is hopeful that these simple tricks might be all that’s needed to make pig-to-human transplants viable, at least for the kidney. Notably, Revivicor has alreadyfrom the Food and Drug Administration for their alpha-gal free pigs to be used medically . So being able to rely on these pigs alone should speed up the time it takes to study these transplants in larger trials and hopefully confirm their safety.
from NYU earlier this month. “We know this has the potential to save thousands of lives, but we want to ensure the utmost safety and care as we move forward.”the world’s first living human to receive a genetically modified pig heart —died two months after the procedure. Bennett was only allowed to undergo the procedure due to having a terminal heart condition. R
esearchers have since found evidence that his death was at least partially the result of a pig virus that had likely been dormant in the heart and was undetected by conventional testing. The NYU team now perform enhanced screening to look for these latent pig viruses that could cause trouble.As for the team’s next immediate step, they plan to continue the experiment for several more weeks, up through mid-September.
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