2023-09-25 19:00:00
According to the WHO, each organ and/or tissue donor can save up to eight lives and also help improve another 75.
Xenotransplants consist of implanting organs from animals with high genetic compatibility with humans.
For the second time in history, a multidisciplinary medical team performed a genetically modified heart transplant from a pig to a human.
Advances occur in Medicine every day and even today it is possible to do what seemed impossible a few decades ago. As part of the most recent innovations, an alternative has been proposed to end waiting times for organ donations. The reason is because for the second time in history a pig heart transplant to a human.
One of the biggest problems in much of the world is little participation of the population in organ and tissue donation. The consequence is waiting lists that last for months and even years.
Likewise, it is not only about finding a donor but various tests must be carried out to verify if the organ is compatible with the recipient. This is a fairly complex process that requires the work of a multidisciplinary medical team.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Each donor can save up to eight lives and also help improve another 75. Based on statistics, the United States is the country with the highest organ donation rate in the world because 41.6 are recorded per million inhabitants.
The countries with the best and worst organ donation rates
With respect to Latin America, the reality is quite different because the figures are very low in most nations. In Brazil and Argentina there are 13.8 donations per million inhabitants, while in Chile only 7.7 and in Colombia 5.3.
Xenotransplants, are they a solution for the current low numbers?
As an alternative to reduce waiting times, the xenotrasplantes. They consist of implanting organs from animals with high genetic compatibility with humans. Although the attempts and experimental phases have their origins in the early 20th century, currently the probabilities of achieving a successful surgery that increases the patient’s life have increased.
Xenotransplants: an alternative to low organ donation
In this regard, the pig is considered the ideal animal because it is the one that has the organs most similar to those of humans. In fact, at the beginning of 2022 the first pig heart transplant to a human in history. Although the intervention was classified as successful, a couple of months later the patient died due to an infection he acquired in the hospital.
Surgeons perform second pig-to-human heart transplant
While now it was announced that for the second time in history a pig heart transplant to a human. The incident was carried out by medical personnel from the University of Maryland Medicine.
A genetically modified pig heart has been transplanted into a man with heart disease – he is breathing on his own and the heart is functioning without support.
— New Scientist (@newscientist) September 25, 2023
According to what was published by the New York Timesthe patient was a 58-year-old man with heart failure. It is also mentioned that he suffers from other health problems that prevented him from undergoing a traditional heart transplant.
Due to his background he agreed to receive this experimental transplant. In the case of the porcine organ, it was first genetically modified to be able to carry out the intervention.
Until now this second attempt to transplant a pig heart into a human has been classified as a success. The man responded well and is recovering. While now the biggest question is about how long he will survive.
Also read:
The first man to receive a pig heart transplant dies
Xenotransplants: an alternative to low organ donation
The countries with the best and worst organ donation rates
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