Researchers have successfully implanted genetically modified pig hearts into two recent deaths The New York University team announced today that it is connected to air vents. The surgeries are the last step in an animal transplant or xenotransplantation, which has seen many successes this year – providing hope for new and permanent organs to alleviate deficiencies.
According to the research team, these heart transplants are the only part of the body that differentiates them from normal human-to-human heart transplants. press release. “Our goal is to integrate the practices used in conventional cardiac transplants, with the help of non-surgical instruments or drugs, with a non-conventional organ transplant,” said Nader Moazami, director of cardiac transplantation at the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. .
The team performed the transplant on June 16 and July 9, and each recipient was monitored for three days. At that time, the heart was functioning normally, and even after death, there were no signs of rejection by the receptors connected to the airways so that their bodies functioned normally. The two recipients were not able to become organ donors but were able to participate in this type of research.
The two pig hearts came from biotechnology company Revivicor, which produces genetically modified pigs (as well as funding for research). The pigs had 10 genetic modifications – to inhibit and reject four pig genes and to add six human genes.
In early January, a live person was successfully given a Rivivicor pig heart at a Maryland Medical Center. David Bennett Sir, who had a serious heart condition, initially responded well to the transplant He died in March Of Heart problem. The cause is not yet known, but infection with the pig virus contributed to his death. The pig’s heart is thought to be free of viruses, but experts say it can be difficult to identify.
The NUU team said it has introduced additional anti-virus protocols for the installation. He also dedicated the operating room to xenotransplantation – that room will not be used for other surgical procedures.
Although the heart of a pig is implanted in a living person, it is still important to replace the dead patients, said Robert Montgomery, director of the New Langon Transplant Institute, in a press release. “The focus is really on learning, studying, measuring and really trying to figure out what’s going on with this amazing new technology,” he said. The team was able to have a daily biopsy. The researchers at the University of Maryland said they could not study the transplant because the recipient was alive.
Brain-dead patients have been used in NYU to test for renal xenotransplantation. This fall, NYU Announced Successfully attach the pig’s kidney to the patient’s leg in the airway. The patient’s body did not receive any organs, and he functioned normally within 54 hours.
Research teams are still working on a full clinical trial of xenotransplantation in living people. They need permission from the Food and Drug Administration to do this. In a press release, Montgomery said the NUU team aims to extend the time it takes to control the heart in order to gather more information for experiments. He thinks clinical trials could now begin in 2025. Revivicor He said in April He hopes to start clinical trials in the next year or two.
There is still much to be learned about xenotransplantation and the ethical implications of animal-human processes. But if they do, they could provide a new alternative to the thousands of people on the waiting list for body parts.
“Xenotransplantation, I believe, gives a very good chance of having a renewable and sustainable source of organs so that no one dies while protecting the body,” said Montgomery.