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According to foreign media reports, the world's first pig heart transplant was completed in the United States.
For patients undergoing surgery, this is the last chance to survive. Before the operation, he said, "Either die or have a transplant." It was my last resort. ”
It is understood that the pigs used in the transplant surgery have been genetically modified. But for xenotransplantation, ethics is probably the biggest challenge outside of technology.
Screenshot of foreign media reports
Patients with heart disease in the United States receive swine heart transplants
According to overseas network comprehensive foreign media reports, recently, the University of Maryland in the United States successfully transplanted a pig heart into the body of a heart patient, which is the first case in the world. Three days later the patient was in good condition.
The organ transplant was received by 57-year-old Dave Bennett. The "donated" heart is a 1-year-old, about 109 kilograms of genetically modified pigs, and its entire feeding process is for organ transplantation.
This is another successful case after U.S. researchers performed a genetically modified pig kidney transplant on a brain-dead kidney disease patient last October, and there is further evidence of the feasibility of pig organ transplantation.
Bennett's condition reportedly prevents the use of an artificial heart, and there is little hope of waiting for a human organ transplant. Initially, he was reluctant to participate in the pig heart transplant trial, but changed his mind when he learned that his chances of survival were slim. However, he said he hopes that he will still have the opportunity to transplant a human heart in the future.
In response to the organ transplant, the ABC quoted David Klassen, chief medical officer of the United Organ Sharing Network (UNOS), as saying that this was a turning point, but he also warned that "this is only the first step in exploring whether xenotransplantation is ultimately feasible."
Ethics is the biggest challenge
According to media reports, ethics is the biggest challenge for transplantation of animal organs into humans. In the latest heart transplant, for 57-year-old patient David Bennett, an animal heart transplant is his last resort.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine, after evaluating the patient's actual situation, considered it to be a patient with end-stage heart disease with no other treatment options, and obtained emergency authorization from the U.S. FDA on New Year's Eve to implant animal organs into the human body through a compassionate treatment program.
The company that supplied the GMO pig heart is Revivicor, a regenerative medicine company based in Blacksburg, Virginia. Pig organs have long been an attractive source of potential organ transplants because their organs are very similar to those of humans. The size of this GMO pig heart is equivalent to the size of an adult's heart.
The researchers genetically edited pig hearts implanted in patients, "knocked out" three genes previously associated with organ rejection from donor pigs, and inserted six human genes associated with immune reception into the donor pig's genome. They also knocked out a pig gene that prevents pig heart tissue from overgrowth. In addition, patients received an experimental anti-rejection drug before surgery.
According to Science and Technology Daily, Karen Maschek, a research scholar at the Bioethics Research Center in the United States, pointed out that it is crucial to share the data collected from this transplant before opening up animal organs to more patients for implantation in humans. Maschek is developing ethical and policy recommendations for such clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health. "Without this information, it is not advisable to hastily carry out animal-human transplants," he said. ”
Currently, feasibility studies on the use of pig organs for kidney, liver and lung transplantation are also underway. According to the U.S. Organ Donation Website, about 110,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and more than 6,000 patients die each year before receiving an organ transplant.
Sources丨 Overseas Network, First Financial, Science and Technology Daily, Daily Economic News, etc
Image source 丨Vision China, etc
Editor 丨 Zhang Yajing