In the United States, doctors have successfully transplanted the heart of a genetically modified human pig for the first time. According to surgeons, three days after the transplant, the heart is working normally, the 57-year-old patient is feeling well. The announcement was made on Monday, January 10, by the Medical Faculty of the University of Maryland,
Ukraine , Ukraingate , 11 , January , 2022 | International News
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“This organ transplant operation demonstrated for the first time that the heart of a genetically modified animal can function in the human body without immediate rejection by the body,” the statement said.
“It was a groundbreaking operation that brings us one step closer to resolving the donor shortage crisis,” said surgeon Bartley Griffith, who performed the pig heart implant operation. According to him, this is the first such operation in the world, which gives hope for the future to patients with refused organs.
There was no alternative to this operation
According to published information, the patient suffered from heart disease in the last stage. A pig heart transplant was the only treatment option, the University of Maryland said.
“I had a choice: die or have a transplant,” said patient David Bennett before the operation on January 7, according to the university. “I want to live. I know that there are few chances, but this is my last choice, ”the man added. Emergency permission for this operation was issued by the US Food and Drug Administration.
The pig from which the heart was derived was genetically modified to remove the “sugar” gene that produces the digestive enzyme isomaltase. Otherwise, this enzyme would cause a strong immune response in the patient, which would lead to rejection of the donor heart.
Donor shortages are a global problem
In the United States alone, about 110,000 people are currently waiting for a donor organ. According to official figures, more than 6,000 people die each year without a transplant.
Due to the lack of human donor organs, researchers have high hopes for so-called xenotransplantation – the transplantation of organs, tissues and / or cellular organelles from one species to another or part of another species. For people affected by burns, pig heart valves and pig skin are already being transplanted.
Source: Ukrgate
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