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First-ever kidney transplant from a pig into a man

MAY 13,2024
NR.BALOCH



Surgeons in the United States successfully transplanted a genetically engineered pig’s kidney into a man in a procedure that may mark a significant advancement for organ recipients.


It took four hours to complete the treatment at Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital. Richard Slayman, the patient, is doing well and should be released shortly.


Long-term outcomes of the innovative animal-to-human transplant are of great interest to experts, according to Dr. Jim Kim, director of kidney and pancreas transplantation at USC Transplant Institute in Los Angeles.

After seven years on dialysis, Slayman underwent a human kidney transplant at the same hospital in 2018. However, the organ failed after five years, so he had to start receiving dialysis again.


The kidney came from a pig that had undergone genetic editing to delete genes that would be dangerous for a human recipient and add some human genes to increase compatibility. The donor was eGenesis of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additionally, the business deactivated pig-born pathogens that may infect people.

Researchers claimed in the journal Nature that they had successfully transplanted kidneys from similarly modified pigs bred by eGenesis into monkeys that were kept alive for an average of 176 days, and in one case for more than two years.

Medication utilized to help stop the patient’s immune system from rejecting the pig organ included the investigational antibody tegoprubart (ELDN.O.) from Eledon Pharmaceuticals.


Dr. Robert Montgomery, head of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, who was not involved in the case, said that the surgery represents a significant advancement in xenotransplantation, or the transfer of organs or tissues from one species to another.


As per his email, the field is getting closer to serving as a substitute supplier of organs for the numerous individuals who are facing kidney failure.

Over 100,000 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant, with kidneys being the most in need, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Surgeons at NYU had previously given brain-dead patients kidney transplants from pigs.

A 57-year-old man with fatal heart disease had a genetically altered pig heart transplant in January 2022 from a University of Maryland team; nevertheless, the man passed away two months later.
According to Montgomery, transplant centers are using various strategies when it comes to gene editing and pharmaceuticals, and “another huge step will be when the FDA authorizes clinical

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