A kidney from a genetically-modified pig has been transplanted to a man in a hospital in Boston.
It is the first time a pig kidney has been transplanted into a living person, according to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Before this, pig kidneys had been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors, the Associated Press reported.
In August, two U.S. surgical teams announced successful experimental kidney transplant from transgenic pigs into brain-dead human recipients. In both instances, the pig kidneys produced urine, carried out other functions of a kidney, and were not rejected by the body. Said Jim Lowe, DVM, associate professor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.
The patient, Richard ‘Rick’ Slayman, 62, of Weymouth, Mass., is recovering well and is expected to be discharged soon, doctors said Thursday. This marks the latest development in xenotransplantation, the term for efforts to try to heal human patients with cells, tissues or organs from animals.
"For decades, it didn't work - the human immune system immediately destroyed foreign animal tissue. More recent attempts have involved pigs that have been modified so their organs are more humanlike," AP reported.
There have been two hearts from pigs transplanted to men in the United States. Both died soon after.
