Clinical breakthrough: Pig kidney transplantation into humans

The kidneys remove waste products and excess fluid from the blood. The new kidney started producing urine after the operation last week, and the patient's condition is improving, according to doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital. According to doctors, the patient is now able to move around the hospital and may be discharged soon.

If kidneys extracted from genetically modified animals can be transplanted in large quantities, the practice of dialysis may end Dr. Dr. Leonardo V. Riela said . Mass General Brigham, the hospital's parent organization, developed the transplant program.

More than eight million Americans have kidney failure and They need dialysis to filter toxins from the blood . More than 100,000 are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant from a living or deceased human donor. Dialysis keeps people alive, but the best option is an organ transplant. But due to severe shortage of organs, thousands of patients die every year waiting for a kidney. A total of 25,000 kidney transplants are performed in the US each year.

The world's first pig heart transplantation into humans

Xenotransplantation, a type of animal organ transplant into humans, has been seen as a possible solution for decades. This can make the kidney more widely available. But its challenge is that the human immune system rejects the other's tissues, which can lead to life-threatening complications. Experts say that even organs taken from well-matched donors run the risk of being rejected by the body in the long run.

In recent years, scientific advances, including gene editing and cloning, have brought xenotransplants closer to reality. This has made it possible to modify an animal's genes to make organs more compatible and less likely to be rejected by the immune system.

The kidney was obtained from a pig engineered by the biotech company Egenesis, which removed three genes involved in potential organ rejection . In addition, seven human genes were also inserted to increase human compatibility . Since pigs are carriers of retroviruses, the company also inactivated the virus that could be transmitted to humans .

In September 2021, surgeons at NYU Lagoon Health in New York attached a genetically modified pig kidney to a brain-dead person . In that person, it started making urine by working . Some time later, scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham also announced the success of a similar experiment.

Surgeons at the University of Maryland have twice transplanted hearts from genetically modified pigs into patients with heart disease. In them, the organ worked in the beginning and the body did not reject it . But after some time, both the heart transplanted patients died due to the nature of their disease.

Patients who agree to these types of cutting-edge experimental treatments are often extremely ill and have few options available to them . Often they don't qualify for the waiting list for human organs .

Boston's pig kidney transplant patient is Richard 'Rick' Schleiman . He is the supervisor of the state transport department . He had been suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure for many years, and had been receiving treatment at Mass General for over a decade.

Sleiman was on dialysis for seven years after his kidneys failed. Finally received a human kidney in 2018. However, the transplanted organ failed within five years and he had to start dialysis again. Because of this, he developed heart attack and other complications. Williams said.

'When Schleiman resumed dialysis in 2023, he developed severe vascular complications . Her blood vessels were clotting and failing . He had to be admitted to the hospital repeatedly,' said Dr. "Sleiman, who continues to work despite his health problems, was frustrated by the long wait for another human kidney," Williams said. For a human kidney, one had to wait five to six years . Due to complications she did not survive this period It was not possible, they would not have been able to escape.'

when Dr. When Williams asked Schleiman about receiving a pig kidney, he had many questions. But, finally decided to go ahead. "I saw this not only as a way to help me, but as a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need transplants to survive," he said in a statement provided by Mass General.

Schleiman's new kidney appears to be working so far, but he has not needed dialysis. The pig's new kidney is making urine while also filtering out creatinine and unnecessary fluids. According to the doctors, his health condition is improving day by day. However, doctors are monitoring Schleiman for signs of organ rejection.

Director of Mass General's Legorretta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance Dr. Tatsuo Kawai and Dr. A team of surgeons, including Nahel Elias, performed the four-hour operation.