First gene-edited pig kidney transplant into living human

Doctors at the Massachusetts General Transplant Center in Boston performed the four-hour surgery using a gene-edited pig kidney.

Doctors said the transplant was “successful” and the patient is expected to be discharged soon. The team believes the pig kidney will function for at least two years.

Dr. Tatsuo Kawa, director of the Legorreta Clinical Transplant Tolerance Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the success of this transplant was the result of the efforts of thousands of scientists and physicians over decades.

The doctor expressed hope that the new transplant method will bring life to millions of patients around the world suffering from kidney failure.

For more than five years, scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital and biotech company eGenesis have been collaborating to create genetically edited kidneys for transplant.

Researchers removed harmful pig genes from animal kidneys and inactivated retroviruses in donor pigs capable of causing infection in humans.

Scientists also added human genes to the kidneys to increase compatibility with any recipient.

On March 16, patient Richard Slayman received a genetically modified kidney.

Slayman, 62, is living with end-stage renal disease, where his kidneys have stopped working.

When his kidneys began to fail, Slayman had to undergo dialysis for seven years, then received a kidney transplant in 2018, but continued to undergo dialysis in May 2023 after the donated kidney stopped working.

This patient had to be hospitalized and had surgery due to complications during dialysis including the development of several blood clots in his arteries.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital carefully explained the surgical procedure to this patient.

Slayman said he saw it not only as a way to help himself get rid of the disease, but also as a way to bring hope to thousands of people who need transplants to survive.

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital told the New York Times that the patient is recovering well, with the transplanted kidney producing urine and Slayman no longer requiring dialysis and able to walk around the hospital.

However, kidney specialist Dr. Winfred Williams said if that fails, Slayman may have to go back on dialysis.

The experiment marks the latest development in xenotransplantation, a term used to describe attempts to heal patients using cells, tissues or organs from animals. For decades, transplants have been ineffective—the human immune system immediately destroys the tissue, rejecting the “foreign” substance. More recently, pigs have been genetically modified to have more human-like organs—raising hopes that they could one day help fill the shortage of donated organs.

Millions of people around the world are on the organ transplant waiting list, with more than 100,000 in the US, mostly kidney patients, and thousands of people die each year before their turn comes.

Minh Hoa (t/h)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/lan-dau-tien-ghep-than-heo-chinh-sua-gene-cho-nguoi-dang-song-a655410.html