After heart transplants, the US is now transplanting pig kidneys to humans.

Nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital remove a genetically modified pig kidney, preparing it for transplantation into a patient - Photo: Massachusetts General Hospital

On March 21, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) announced that a 62-year-old man with end-stage kidney disease had become the first person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney.

According to Reuters, the four-hour surgery was performed on March 16. The hospital said that patient Richard Slayman from Weymouth, Massachusetts, is recovering well and is expected to be discharged soon.

Mr. Slayman received a kidney transplant at the same hospital in 2018, after seven years of dialysis. However, the transplanted kidney failed after five years, forcing him to continue treatment with dialysis.

The transplanted pig kidney was supplied by eGenesis, a company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from a genetically modified pig. This process removes genes harmful to the recipient and adds certain human genes to improve compatibility.

eGenesis's genetically modified pig kidneys have been successfully transplanted into monkeys, helping them survive an average of 176 days, with one case lasting over two years.

According to Reuters, several drugs are being used to help prevent the patient's immune system from rejecting the pig kidney, including an experimental antibody called tegoprubart, developed by Eledon Pharmaceuticals ELDN.O.

More than 100,000 people in the US are waiting for organ transplants, with kidneys being the most in-demand.

In January 2022, a team from the University of Maryland, also in the US, transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a 57-year-old man with heart disease. However, he died two months later.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/sau-ghep-tim-my-ghep-than-heo-cho-nguoi-20240322084204663.htm