'Transplanting pig organs into humans': What is xenotransplantation
Doctors are turning to pigs for a potential fix to the global organ shortage.
This year, Tim Andrews from New Hampshire received a pig kidney at Massachusetts General Hospital, and it worked for 271 days—pretty remarkable when you consider that only about 10% of patients worldwide get transplants, and in the US alone, 13 people die each day waiting.
Pig kidneys, hearts, and livers
In September, the FDA approved large-scale clinical trials of pig kidneys by eGenesis, and in February, Revivicor received similar approval—a big step toward more accessible organ transplants.
The secret sauce is CRISPR gene-editing tech, which helps these organs avoid immune rejection.
Research is still ongoing with new trials on pig hearts and livers too, offering hope that genetically modified pig organs could soon help save many more lives.