Richard Slayman, a 62-year-old man, has become the world’s first living human recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney. Just two weeks after his historic transplant procedure, Slayman has recovered well enough to be discharged from the hospital. His new kidney appears to be functioning as expected.
The transplant was performed by doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital, using a kidney sourced from a pig developed by the biotech company eGenesis. Scientists removed three pig genes and added seven human genes to improve the pig’s compatibility. They also inactivated several porcine endogenous retroviruses, which are integrated into every pig’s genome.
This successful procedure marks the beginning of a new era in animal-to-human kidney transplantation, also known as xenotransplantation. This field has become a promising avenue for addressing the long-standing shortage of donated organs. However, it’s taken many decades to reach this point. Recent innovations in gene-editing technology have made it possible for scientists to create pigs that are more compatible with human biology. The hope is that the organs from these pigs can be safely tolerated by the recipient’s immune system.
read more > gizmodo.com