The medical advancement could pave the way for animal organs to be used in life-saving transplants.
Scientists have successfully transplanted a pig kidney into a human for the first time, which could pave the way for animal organs to be used in life-saving transplants.
On September 25, scientists at NYU Langone Health performed the two-hour procedure called a xenotransplantation.
Normally, the human body immediately rejects organs from other species; however this kidney had been gene-edited to eliminate a sugar that caused immediate organ rejection.
The kidney was transplanted to a brain dead patient with the consent of her family. For the duration of the 54-hour study, it was attached to large blood vessels and maintained outside the patient’s body, so surgeons could observe and access it.
With no sign of rejection, the kidney performed its regular function of eliminating waste and producing urine.
In a statement, Dr. Robert Montgomery, who led the surgical team last month at NYU Langone Health, called the surgery a “transformative moment in organ transplantation.”
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