"Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital have removed a genetically engineered pig kidney from a 67-year-old New Hampshire man after a period of decreasing kidney function, the hospital confirmed to WIRED in a statement. The organ functioned for nearly nine months, longer than previous pig organ transplants, before it was removed on October 23. Tim Andrews received the pig kidney on January 25 after being on dialysis for more than two years due to end-stage kidney disease."
"Due to the shortage of organs, the US performed just 28,000 kidney transplants in 2024. Pig organs are being explored as an option, though genetic differences between pigs and humans mean they would be swiftly rejected if they were transplanted into a person. Scientists have therefore turned to gene editing to make pig organs more compatible with the human body, and have so far carried out a handful of experimental transplants."
"The first, Richard Slayman, whose surgery was also performed at Massachusetts General, died in May 2024 almost two months after his transplant. A second person, Lisa Pisano, had a combined pig kidney transplant and heart pump surgery at NYU Langone Health, but had the kidney removed in May 2024 after less than two months due to failure. Pisano later passed away."
A genetically engineered pig kidney was implanted into a 67-year-old man who had been on dialysis for over two years; the organ functioned for nearly nine months before removal due to declining function. The recipient's rare blood type extended his wait for a human donor. Shortages of human kidneys, with nearly 90,000 people waiting and only 28,000 transplants in 2024, have driven exploration of animal organs. Gene editing has been used to reduce immunologic incompatibility and enable experimental pig-to-human transplants. Several prior recipients experienced organ failure or rejection within months, and research continues worldwide.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]