GROUNDBREAKING Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, perform the world鈥檚 first genetically modified pig kidney transplant into a living human, in this photo taken on March 16. The groundbreaking, four-hour procedure could help address the chronic shortage of donor organs. 鈥擯HOTO BY AFP
WASHINGTON 鈥� US surgeons have successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a living patient for the first time, the hospital said Thursday, a procedure that could help address the chronic shortage of donor organs.
The four-hour operation was carried out on Saturday on a 62-year-old man suffering from end-stage kidney disease, Massachusetts General Hospital said.
鈥淭he procedure marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients,鈥� the hospital known as Mass General, or MGH, said in a statement.
Organ shortages are a chronic problem around the world and the Boston hospital said there are more than 1,400 patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant at MGH alone.
鈥楴ew frontier鈥�
鈥淥ur hope is that this transplant approach will offer a lifeline to millions of patients worldwide who are suffering from kidney failure,鈥� said Dr Tatsuo Kawai, a member of the team that carried out the groundbreaking operation.
The hospital said the pig kidney used for the transplant was provided by a Massachusetts biotech company called eGenesis and had been genetically edited to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes.
鈥淭his represents a new frontier in medicine and demonstrates the potential of genome engineering to change the lives of millions of patients globally suffering from kidney failure,鈥� said Mike Curtis, the chief executive officer of eGenesis.
The hospital said the patient, Richard Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts, 鈥渋s recovering well at MGH and is expected to be discharged soon.鈥滺e will be on a regimen of immunosuppressive drugs to ward off rejection of the pig kidney.
鈥楬ealth equity鈥�
Slayman, who suffers from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, had received a transplant of a human kidney in 2018, but it began to fail five years later and he has been on dialysis.
Slayman said he agreed to the pig kidney transplant as 鈥渘ot only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.鈥�
Slayman is Black and the hospital said the procedure could be of particular benefit to ethnic minorities who suffer from high rates of kidney disease.
鈥淭his health disparity has been the target of many national policy initiatives for over 30 years, with only limited success,鈥� said Slayman鈥檚 nephrologist Winfred Williams.
鈥淎n abundant supply of organs resulting from this technological advance may go far to finally achieve health equity and offer the best solution to kidney failure鈥攁 well-functioning kidney鈥攖o all patients in need,鈥� Williams said.
The transplantation of organs from one species to another is a growing field known as xenotransplantation.
Pig kidneys had been transplanted previously into brain-dead patients, but Slayman is the first living person to receive one.
Special conditions
Genetically modified pig hearts were transplanted recently into two patients at the University of Maryland, but both survived less than two months.
Mass General said the pigs used as organ donors were 鈥済rown in isolation under special conditions to prevent the pig from being exposed to infections that might harm the human recipient.鈥�
鈥淭hese special pigs have organs of similar size and function to human organs,鈥� it said. 鈥淭he genetic modifications of these pigs have also made them more compatible with humans.鈥�
Mass General said the transplant was carried out under a policy known as 鈥渃ompassionate use鈥� that allows patients with 鈥渟erious or life-threatening conditions鈥� to access experimental therapies not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
READ: Pig kidney works in human patient in 鈥榩otential miracle鈥�