A pig kidney worked on a human for two months

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The NYU Langone Transplant Institute team concluded its two-month study of transplanting a kidney from genetically modified pig on a human.

Agence France-Presse

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After operating the kidney of a genetically modified pig on a brain-dead human for a record period of two months, the American scientific team that carried out this transplant announced Thursday that it had, as planned, end to the experience.

We have learned a lot over the past two months through detailed observations and analysis, and we have good reason to be optimistic about the future, said Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the #x27;Transplant Institute at NYU Langone Hospital in New York, where the procedure was performed.

Such transplants of animal organs into humans, called xenografts, could offer a solution to the chronic shortage of kidney donations. More than 100,000 Americans are currently on the organ transplant waiting list, with nearly 88,000 waiting for a kidney.

On July 14, a pig's kidney was transplanted into a brain-dead man who had donated his body to science. The pig had been genetically modified so that the organ would not be immediately rejected by the human body.

While after a month no sign of release had been observed, scientists indicated on Thursday that a slight release process had subsequently been observed, which necessitates the intensification of immunosuppressive treatments.

More results will be published in the coming months, the NYU Langone press release said.

Several xenografts have been carried out by this team in recent years, including the world first of a pig kidney transplant into a human, in September 2021. But all their trials had until now been quite short. p>

The experiment carried out this summer lasted 61 days in total, a record.

To create an unlimited supply of organs, we must learn how to manage pig organ transplants into humans, Dr. Robert Montgomery reiterated Thursday.

Testing them on deceased allows us to optimize the immunosuppressant regimen and the choice of gene modifications, to make future trials safer.

A quote from Robert Montgomery, NYU Langone Hospital Transplant Institute

Other trials on deceased people are planned.