Have you ever wondered what happens when sci-fi meets real life? 🤯 In a groundbreaking move, American biotech unicorn United Therapeutics just completed the first transplant of a gene-edited pig kidney into a human at NYU Langone Health, kicking off the FDA-approved trial that could change transplant medicine forever.
This trial, the first of its kind on a large scale, isn't a one-off experiment. It's a systematic study to track safety and success in patients with end-stage renal disease. Six volunteers aged 55-70, who have been on dialysis for at least six months, will receive these porcine kidneys. Over the next 24 weeks, doctors will monitor kidney function, survival rates, quality of life, and any safety red flags. If the data shines, the study could expand to about 50 participants!
So what makes these pig kidneys special? 🐷 United Therapeutics' team made 10 gene tweaks: they knocked out four pig genes that spark human rejection and added six human genes to help the organ blend in. It's like giving the kidney a celebrity makeover to fit into its new human host seamlessly.
Massachusetts General Hospital set a record in January when its gene-edited pig kidney functioned in a patient for nearly nine months. And back in March, a medical team from Xijing Hospital of the Air Force Medical University in the Chinese mainland also completed a successful pig kidney transplant into a uremic patient—proof that xenotransplantation is a global quest.
According to Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, this marks a critical turning point in transplant medicine, showing how crossing species could help us chip away at the global organ shortage 🌍❤️
With thousands waiting for a kidney worldwide, pig organs—similar in size and function to ours—offer a promising solution. But it's not all smooth sailing: researchers must navigate immune challenges and weird infection risks. Still, as this trial unfolds, we might be witnessing the future of organ transplants—where pigs might literally save human lives.
Stay tuned as this trial unfolds—because in the near future, pigs could become humanity's unlikely heroes in the fight against organ shortages! 🌟
Reference(s):
Clinical trial of pig kidney transplants gets underway in U.S.
cgtn.com
