Surgeons conduct first successful transplant of pig kidney to human
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A US medical team has succeeded in the first successful transplant of a pig kidney to a human, temporarily.
The surgery, which lasted about 2 hours, was carried out on 25 September 2021. They used the kidney of a genetically modified donor animal and attached it to a brain dead patient on a ventilator. The patient’s family had given permission for the two-day experiment, for the sake of helping science.
The medical team said that the kidney worked as expected in the body. The kidney was taken out after 2 days only.
Earlier studies have has shown that kidneys from pigs can be used in non-human primates for up to a year. Primates include monkeys and apes. However, this was the first time it had been attempted with a human patient.
First successful transplant of a pig kidney to a human
While this is an amazing experiment, there is still a long way to go. We do not know how it would affect the body in the long term, but it is an important first step.
The medical team says that they plan to conduct clinical trials in a year or two. If they are successful, this could help save many patients waiting for organ donors.
Pigs are often used in these kinds of studies. Today, we are already using pig heart valves in humans, and pigskin on human burn victims. But this is the first successful transplant of a pig kidney to a human.
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