More than 100,000 Americans are waiting for organs in the United States – and the majority of them are waiting for a kidney. The transplant at NYU Langone Health in New York is the latest attempt to use organs from animals to save human lives.
So-called xenotransplantation attempts have failed for decades, as the human immune system immediately destroys foreign animal tissue. The novelty of the experiment is to try genetically modified pigs so that their organs are more human, reports the news agency AP.
– It is a combination of excitement and relief. Two months is a long time to have a pig kidney in this good condition. It gives me a lot of confidence for the next attempt, says Dr. Robert Montgomery, the transplant surgeon who led the experiment.
“It’s doable”
Montgomery, himself a heart transplant recipient, sees animal-to-human transplants as critical to alleviating America’s organ shortage. The research team now hopes to eventually be able to test pig kidneys in living patients.
– What we have learned is that we can do it. That it is doable, says Massimo Mangiola, researcher at NYU Langone Health, to AP.
Brain-dead patient Maurice “Mo” Miller’s body was cremated after the experiment was completed.
American David Bennett, 57, became unique in January after becoming the first
the man who had a pig’s heart operated on – and survived the operation. However, Bennet died in March after his condition had begun to deteriorate. No cause of death was determined.