Successful use of pig hearts in human transplants brings new hope to address shortage of transplanted organs

On January 10, local time, the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) reported that a team of scientists and clinicians from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) "successfully transplanted a pig heart into a swine heart for the first time.

The transplanted heart came from a genetically edited pig

The recipient was a 57-year-old patient with end-stage heart disease

Currently, the shortage of transplant organs is a global problem

Xenotransplantation (allowing animals to provide transplanted organs to humans) holds promise for addressing the shortage of transplanted organs

Organs from transgenic pigs have long been the focus of xenotransplantation research

Not long ago, in October 2021, a key step was taken in pig organ human transplantation, when doctors at NYU Langone Medical Center successfully connected a gene-edited pig kidney to a human volunteer.

The successful transplantation of pig heart into human is undoubtedly another pioneering progress in xenotransplantation

According to a UMCC press release, the successful transplant depends on genetic modification of the experimental donor pigs.

Of course, the successful implementation of the operation is also inseparable from the medical team

References

[1] University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Scientists and Clinicians Perform Historic First Successful Transplant of Porcine Heart into Adult Human with End-Stage Heart Disease.

[2] First Successful Transplant of Porcine Heart.

[4] In a First, Surgeons Attached a Pig Kidney to a Human — and It Worked.