Prime Highlights
- Gene-edited pig organ transplants could become a major solution to the global shortage of human donor organs.
- Early trial results suggest pig kidneys can function in the human body without immediate rejection, opening new treatment options.
Key Facts
- In 2021, a gene-edited pig kidney was successfully transplanted into a brain-dead human, proving the organ could work safely.
- The current clinical trial involves organs modified in 10 areas, with plans to expand to 44 more transplants pending FDA approval.
Background:
A new clinical trial using gene-edited pig organs for human transplants could become a major breakthrough in healthcare, according to a senior transplant surgeon leading the research. The effort is focused on solving the serious shortage of human donor organs, a problem that costs thousands of lives around the world every year.
Dr Robert Montgomery, director of NYU Langone’s Transplant Institute, is leading the trial, which has already completed its first pig kidney transplant in a living human. A second procedure is expected in January, with six patients set to receive pig kidneys during the initial phase. The organs have been changed in 10 important ways to lower the chance of rejection by the human body.
If the trial proves to be safe and effective, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may approve 44 more transplants. The approach, known as xenotransplantation, is being explored as a long-term solution to the widening gap between organ supply and demand.
The need is significant. In the UK alone, more than 12,000 people have died or been removed from transplant waiting lists over the past decade without receiving an organ, according to NHS Blood and Transplant. Trial participants include patients who are either not eligible for a human kidney transplant or are considered unlikely to receive one in time.
Dr Montgomery, who himself received a heart transplant in 2018 after suffering multiple cardiac arrests, says the current system cannot keep up. While advances such as paired kidney exchanges and the use of organs from hepatitis C-positive donors have helped, they have not solved the core problem.
While challenges remain, experts say the trial is a positive step that could expand transplant options and save lives.
