The News
Doctors revealed Tuesday that a 53-year-old US woman successfully received a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig, becoming the only person in the world currently living with a pig organ, according to her medical team.
Since the November surgery, the woman has lived for weeks without dialysis, an encouraging sign for future transplants using genetically modified pig organs.
Some scientists believe such procedures could save thousands of patients’ lives (there are some 100,000 people on organ transplant waiting lists in the US, according to official data), but their record has been mixed: Since 2022, there have been several transplants using pig organs across the world, but many of the patients died weeks or months after surgery. The doctors who worked with this pig kidney transplant patient told NPR that her youth and otherwise good health may make her a better candidate.
Know More
Pig organs share some anatomical similarities to those of humans, but to be used in a human transplant, the organs need to be genetically modified to lower the risk of rejection and other complications. If this case proves successful long-term, it could lead to a clinical trial — the gold standard of medical research — to test whether such procedures could become a standard medical treatment.
“[This] case is a precursor to potential clinical trials, under the FDA’s guidance, to determine if these organs are safe as a new, sustainable source of organs for those who needs them,” one of the doctors who performed the surgery said.