2024-03-21 17:39:04
Health organ transplant
Doctors transplant genetically modified pig kidneys for the first time
As of: 6:39 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
Pioneering work: A team of surgeons from Boston operates on the patient with kidney disease
Quelle: ©2024mghphotography
A 62-year-old patient in the USA is the first person in the world to receive a genetically modified pig kidney. Researchers hope to use this method to overcome the shortage of donor organs – and see the beginning of a new medical era.
The spectacular approach has been researched for a long time – now doctors have apparently managed to use it in practice: For the first time in the world, US transplant surgeons have transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a patient. The Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced this today known.
The organ comes from a donor animal whose genetic material was modified in a total of 69 places using the so-called Crispr/Cas genetic scissors. The recipient is a patient with otherwise incurable kidney disease.
The Boston surgical team, led by transplant specialists Leonardo Riella, Tatsuo Kawai and Nahel Elias, had already carried out the four-hour operation last Saturday. The procedure is a big step in the effort to make more organs available to patients, say the doctors. “The success of this transplant is the culmination of the efforts of thousands of scientists and doctors over several decades,” affirms Kawai.
also read
Experts refer to the method now used as a “xenotransplantation”. The background is the notorious shortage of human donor organs. For decades, scientists have been researching the possibility of using pigs as donors because their organs are largely the same size and function as those of humans.
also read
The problem is that the human immune system reacts much more strongly to the animal tissue, which leads to violent rejection reactions. Doctors also fear that certain viruses could pass from pigs to humans. In order to limit these risks, researchers first try to genetically modify the donor animals.
At the beginning of 2022, US surgeons had already transferred a genetically modified pig heart to a patient, but the man died two months later after his condition rapidly deteriorated. A modified pig kidney has already been inserted into a brain-dead patient. The modified kidney that has now been transplanted into a living person is a world first.
also read
Tier-Mensch-Transplantation
Read exclusively
The pig kidney was provided by the US company eGenesis. The researchers genetically modified the corresponding donor animal using Crispr-Cas technology in such a way that harmful pig genes were removed and certain human genes were added. This is intended to improve tissue tolerance for humans. The scientists also inactivated so-called endogenous retroviruses, i.e. viruses that are firmly integrated into the animal genome.
For several years, eGenesis has been conducting extensive research with experts at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and other teams to advance the approach. Just last year, the scientists published their results in the specialist journal “Nature“. The current procedure was approved by the US FDA as a so-called compassionate use.
Prepared for transplantation: the genetically modified pig kidney
Quelle: ©2024mghphotography
“At MGH alone there are over 1,400 patients on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Unfortunately, some of these patients will die or be too sick for a transplant due to the long wait on dialysis. I firmly believe that xenotransplantation represents a promising solution to the organ shortage crisis,” comments transplant surgeon Leonardo Riella.
It is currently unclear whether his hopes will come true. Meanwhile, there is ongoing discussion in Germany about how the number of donor organs can be increased. A central register was only recently launched in this country in which those wishing to donate can register.
The patient now being treated in Boston is 62-year-old Richard Slayman from Weymouth, Massachusetts. He has long suffered from type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which damaged his kidneys. A human donor kidney had already been transferred to him in 2018. However, this failed last year, so Slayman had to rely on dialysis again. Again and again, the vascular access became blocked with blood clots, which required repeated hospital stays and significantly reduced his quality of life.
Here you will find content from third parties
In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.
Now Slayman is hoping for a new chance thanks to the pig kidney. According to the hospital, he is doing well and will be discharged soon. “When my transplanted kidney began to fail in 2023, I once again trusted that my care team would not only improve my life, but also extend it,” said Slayman. “I would like to thank everyone who took care of me. They have supported me every step of this journey.”
#Transplantation #doctors #genetically #modified #pig #kidneys #patients #time