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Organ transplants
Better than a pig’s ear
A modified pig’s kidney has been successfully transplanted into a 62-year-old man at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Xenotransplantation as it is called, is still in the experimental stage and involves the transplantation of organs from one species to another, in this case a pig to a human.
Pigs were selected as a source for human donor because they are:-
1. Widely available, they have large litters.
2. The kidneys are very similar in size to humans.
3. Pigs have a lifetime of approximately 30 years, so any kidneys transplanted should last awhile.
The pig used in the Massachusetts transplant was genetically modified to bring it more in line with the human genes and to make it more compatible; it was also raised in a controlled environment.
Initial experiments were carried out by transplanting pigs organs into baboons, which are closer to the human genetic makeup. Anti-rejection medication was still used, as they would have been on a human to human transplant.
An initial experiment had been carried out at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, where a pig’s kidney had been transplanted into a brain-dead human. The kidney was not rejected, but filtered blood and produced urine, and was still working after 77…
