Science News

Article originally written by Juliette Moore ’27

In the United States, more than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant, and 17 people die everyday waiting for an organ. Kidneys are the most common organs needed for a transplant. Recently, a significant advancement was made in this field with the successful transplant of a pig kidney into a human. This surgery offers hope to those on the transplant waiting list.

The patient, Richard Slayman, has a history of type 2 diabetes and underwent a human kidney transplant in the past. Five years later, the kidney showed signs of failure. Without the pig kidney, he would have to wait five to six years and would not have survived. Slayman saw the surgery as not only a way to help himself, but also as a way to provide hope for thousands of people. Although in the past, transplants of pig hearts into living patients and of pig kidneys into brain dead recipients have been attempted, they weren’t very successful.

The company that genetically engineered the kidney, eGenesis, used CRISPR to change the genes of the pig and make the organ more suitable for humans. Scientists snipped out genes that are involved in making carbohydrates that the human system attacks. They added seven human genes that prevent transplant rejection. Finally, they inactivated viruses, called endogenous retroviruses, in the pig’s genomes that can hurt humans.

Longer term results of the transplant aren’t clear yet. The surgery will be considered a success if the patient doesn’t need to go back on dialysis. Doctors still do not know how many years the pig kidney can survive, but they are aiming for more than two years. They believe that xenotransplantation, or transplanting organs from one species to another, is a reasonable option as a bridge to receiving a human kidney or a permanent treatment. With further research and development, xenotransplantation could be a promising solution to the organ shortage issue, providing hope for thousands of people who need life-saving transplants.

Sources:

Pig Kidney Transplanted into Living Human for First Time https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pig-kidney-transplanted-into-living-human-for-first-time/

In a First, Genetically Edited Pig Kidney Is Transplanted Into Human https://hms.harvard.edu/news/first-genetically-edited-pig-kidney-transplanted-human#:~:text=The%20pig%20kidney%20%E2%80%94%20provided%20by,protocol%2C%20are%20not%20yet%20clear

15 Piglets That Are Even Cuter Than Kittens (Image Source)
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/442408363384785803