Kidneys From Genetically-Altered Pig , Transplanted Into Human Patient for First Time.
The procedure was conducted by doctors with the Comprehensive Transplant Institute at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in September 2021.
James Parsons had been hospitalized, but was brain-dead due to a dirt bike accident.
The family of the 57-year-old organ donor approved his participation.
The kidneys, grown in a genetically-modified pig, remained functional in Parsons up until the time surgeons removed them, 77 hours later.
One of the lead doctors described the moment researchers knew that the kidneys had been accepted by the man's body.
There was a lot at stake at that moment, Dr. Paige Porrett, University of Alabama at Birmingham, via NBC News.
We’re talking about the life’s work of a lot of researchers, scientists.
, Dr. Paige Porrett, University of Alabama at Birmingham, via NBC News.
Doctors also understood the broader implications of the success or failure of the procedure.
The hope of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of patients who we haven’t met yet were depending on this to work, Dr. Paige Porrett, University of Alabama at Birmingham, via NBC News.
Dr. Porrett stated that once the kidneys had began functioning and remained healthy, the surgeons celebrated.
I’m pretty sure there were high-fives at that moment, Dr. Paige Porrett, University of Alabama at Birmingham, via NBC News.
The field of xenotransplantation, .
In which organs intended for humans are grown and then harvested from genetically-modified animals such as pigs, .
Has been becoming more robust in recent years.
Is this an approach that will solve the organ shortage?
It is an approach that has the potential to solve the organ shortage, Dr. David Klassen, United Network for Organ Sharing CMO, via NBC News.
For a therapy like this to be fully understood takes a long time, Dr. David Klassen, United Network for Organ Sharing CMO, via NBC News
