The world’s first case: a gene-edited pig kidney was transplanted to a human

Recently, researchers at New York University Langone Medical Center (New York University Langone Medical Center) transplanted gene-edited pig kidneys into humans and observed them

Scientists temporarily implanted a pig's kidney into the human body and watched it start to work

On December 23, 1954, the United States successfully performed the world's first human organ transplant

According to statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO), about 2 million people in the world need organ transplants every year

Researchers all over the world have tried to solve the problem of organ transplant shortage through a variety of ways

As early as the 17th century, people tried to use animal blood for blood transfusions

In 1984, cardiologist Dr.

Since then, scientists have turned their attention to xenotransplantation of pigs, because pigs themselves are raised as human food, so there are fewer ethical issues in organ transplantation

In fact, for decades, porcine heart valves, porcine intestine heparin, porcine skin transplantation and porcine cornea have been successfully applied to human treatment

The genetically modified pig, called GalSafe, was developed by Revavicor, a subsidiary of United Therapeutic

The agency said that medical products developed from pigs still require special FDA approval before they can be used in humans

Other researchers are considering whether GalSafe pigs can be a source of everything from heart valves to skin transplants for human patients

The recipient of this pig kidney transplant was a brain-dead patient with symptoms of renal insufficiency, and her family agreed to the experiment before she stopped her life support

A research team at the Langon Medical Center of New York University connected the pig’s kidneys to a pair of large blood vessels in the human recipient and observed them on a ventilator for two days

The research leader, Dr.

Dr.
Robert Montgomery

For decades, humans have been seeking to use xenogeneic animal organ transplantation to save lives.
This experiment is an important step in this regard
.
It paves the way for pig kidney or heart transplantation on living people in the next few years, and it is also waiting for thousands of organ transplants
.
Bring hope of life
.

Previously, Miromatrix Medical was listed on the Nasdaq on June 24, 2021.
The company focused on the use of pig organs for human xenotransplantation
.
This is the first xenotransplant company listed on the market
.

The micromatrix has developed a unique method of perfusion decellularization and recellularization
.
Since the extracellular matrix (ECM) of pigs is more than 93% homologous to humans, it can significantly reduce the occurrence of adverse reactions such as rejection reactions
.
First, they used pump cell cleaning technology to elute living cells in pig organs, leaving only the protein framework, keeping the structure and blood vessels intact
.
Then, human cells are reperfused to refill the protein framework to cultivate organs that can be used for human transplantation
.

On March 2, 2021, eGenesis announced the completion of a Series C financing of US$125 million.
These funds will be used to promote kidney transplantation and islet cell transplantation into human clinical trials, as well as the continuous development of the existing gene editing platform and the expansion of GMP production scale
.

eGenesis is a gene editing and genome engineering research company that develops organs, tissues and cells compatible with humans
.

The company was founded in 2015 by Academician George Church of Harvard University and Dr.
Luhan Yang
.
On March 16, 2017, eGenesis completed a US$38 million Series A financing.
On November 7, 2019, eGenesis completed a US$100 million Series B financing
.

Montgomery, a heart transplant recipient, said that New York University’s kidney transplant experiments may pave the way for trials in patients with end-stage renal failure in the next year or two
.
These trials may test the method as a short-term solution for critically ill patients until a human kidney is obtained, or as a permanent transplant
.

Montgomery said that the current experiment only performed one transplant and the kidney was only retained for three days, so any future experiments may find new obstacles that need to be overcome
.
Participants may be patients with a lower chance of receiving human kidneys and a poor prognosis on dialysis
.

Montgomery said: "For many patients with a mortality rate as high as certain cancers, we will not hesitate to use new drugs and new trials (often cancer patients) because it may make them live a few more months
.
"

Montgomery said the researchers worked with medical ethicists, legal and religious experts to examine the concept before asking family members if they could temporarily contact a brain-dead patient
.

(Source: Internet, reference only)