A new historical breakthrough has been recorded in the medical world. A 67-year-old American patient, Tim Andrews, received a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig, and he has been living with this organ for more than six months. This case was recorded as an absolute record in the field of transplantation of pig organs to humans - xenotransplantation. This was reported by the prestigious journal Nature.
According to the data, Andrew suffered from terminal renal failure and needed dialysis for more than two years. After the surgery in January of this year, he lives without dialysis. Experts consider this result one of the greatest achievements of xenotransplantation.
Andrew was one of three patients who received a genetically modified swine kidney prepared by the biotechnology company eGenesis in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Several changes were made to his kidney:
- some antigens were removed to reduce the risk of rejection;
- seven human genes are combined, which reduces the likelihood of inflammation and bleeding;
- retroviruses present in the pig genome have also been deactivated.
Wayne Hawthorne, a transplant specialist at the University of Australia, said:
"Six months is an incredible result. It is the first six months that are considered the most dangerous period for the patient. During this time, a number of complications may be observed, including anemia or rejection of the organ by the immune system. Therefore, a six-month mark is a sign of success. If a patient lives more than a year, this will be a new stage in medicine."
A similar experiment was conducted before. Tovana Luni, a 53-year-old American, underwent a pig kidney transplant and lived for four months and nine days. However, the organ was later removed due to rejection. Tim Andrews' case is quite successful.
Medical experts say that xenotransplantation can save the lives of millions of people in the future. Because currently, the number of patients worldwide in need of organ transplantation is very large, but there are not enough donor organs. The use of pig organs can open a new direction in maintaining human health.
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