"Dr Robert Montgomery, the director of NYU Langone's Transplant Institute, said the first transplant of the trial had already been carried out, with another expected to take place in January. Six patients are initially expected to receive the pig organs, which have been gene-edited in 10 places to reduce rejection by the human body. Should the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) give approval, the trial will be expanded to involve 44 further transplants."
"The truth is that there's just never going to be enough human organs, Montgomery told the Guardian. He speaks from experience. He is not only a pioneering transplant surgeon and one of Time Magazine's most influential people of 2025, but he has inherited a heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which killed his father and brother. After Montgomery experienced seven cardiac arrests one of which resulted in a month-long coma he received a heart transplant himself in 2018."
A clinical trial is transplanting gene-edited pig kidneys into living humans to tackle severe shortages of human organs. The pig kidneys have been edited in ten locations to reduce human rejection. Six initial recipients are planned, with a further 44 transplants contingent on FDA approval. Eligible participants are those ineligible for human kidney transplantation or at higher risk of dying or remaining un-transplanted within five years. The approach, xenotransplantation, aims to increase organ supply and reduce transplant waiting-list fatalities. A pioneering transplant surgeon with personal transplant experience supports the potential of this strategy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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