After a monkey received a genetically altered pig kidney and lived for almost two years, researchers declared it a great advancement in the area of organ transplantation.
The research is the most recent product of collaboration between the US biotech firm eGenesis and Harvard Medical School, where experts are exploring the use of genetically modified pigs to address the critical shortage of organ donors for people worldwide.
As eGenesis CEO Dr. Michael Curtis put it, this "extraordinary milestone" might lead to improved results for the countless patients needing critical organ transplants.
Breakthrough in Organ Transplantation
For decades, researchers have tried to answer whether organs from other species can be successfully transplanted into humans without the recipient's immune system rejecting them.
In the most recent study, kidneys from Yucatan miniature pigs were transplanted into macaques after being genetically modified using the gene-editing tool CRISPR. These adjustments eliminated pig viruses that may be triggered in transplant patients and reduced the risk of organ rejection.
The results of the experiment, which included the removal of 21 monkeys' kidneys and the subsequent implantation of a single genetically engineered pig kidney, were published in the journal Nature.
In most cases, monkeys barely lived for 24 days after having three genes in their kidneys altered to prevent immunological rejection. After having seven human genes that prevent blood clotting, inflammation, and other immunological responses implanted into them, the monkeys lived an average of 176 days longer than usual.
Researchers claim that one monkey lived with the transplanted organ for almost two years, or 758 days, after receiving medication to suppress the immune system.
According to Curtis, eGenesis is already well on its way to meeting the 12-month animal survival criterion set by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can begin human clinical trials.
The Yucatan miniature pig is used as a donor because, at full size, its kidneys are comparable to those of an adult human. The kidneys implanted in the monkey study were just two or three months old.
Pig Organs for Human Transplants
Harvard Medical School professor Tatsuo Kawai, who co-authored the paper, said the modified pig organs were likely to do better in humans than monkeys as they are a better match.
So far, two people have gotten hearts from pigs, according to The Guardian. The first was David Bennett, who passed away in 2022, only two months after undergoing surgery. The second recipient, 58-year-old Lawrence Faucette, is doing well after receiving a new heart on September 20. He had suffered from advanced cardiac disease and is in recovery.
One of the pioneering heart transplant surgeons, Professor Muhammad Mohiuddin of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has advocated for the use of genetically engineered pig organs in clinical studies involving humans. A lack of human organs has led to the need for clinical translation of this crucial technology, he said.
