Deep observation - pig heart transplantation of human body, we should pay more attention to what we should pay attention to than playing with stems

On Jan. 7, doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine transplanted a gene-edited pig heart into a patient for the first time. Xinhua News Agency Photo

Recently, the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States transplanted the heart of a 57-year-old dying heart disease patient from a genetically modified pig, the operation was successful, as of January 10, the man has survived for 3 days after surgery, and is currently in good condition. The heart of this pig was removed from 4 pig genes and 6 human genes were inserted. He is also the first person in the world to receive a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig.

Perhaps the way people express themselves in social media has quietly changed, so behind the relevant news, there are a lot of ridicule and playful sounds. However, this is a serious scientific issue, a major event involving the development of human biomedicine, and should be viewed with a more objective and scientific attitude.

The transplantation of organs from genetically modified pigs into human bodies this time is a groundbreaking scientific attempt. As we all know, organ transplantation is the last hope of many difficult diseases, such as terminal cancer, organ failure and other patients, but in the "last mile" of this life hope, it is full of various moral and ethical dilemmas and helplessness in reality.

Data show that about 1.5 million people in China need organ transplants every year, but only about 10,000 donors, and this huge gap means that too many people are racing against death.

So, are there alternative sources beyond human organs? This has always been an important task in the practice of scientific research in related fields. As early as 1682, a Dutch surgeon named Mikren used bone fragments from dogs while repairing the skull of a wounded Russian soldier.

Early xenograft donors were first apes. Primates such as monkeys, orangutans, etc. are similar in physiological anatomy and metabolism, but primates have long generational gaps, low reproductive rates, and high feeding costs, making it difficult to meet the needs of human organ transplantation; and most primates are internationally protected animals, which is not conducive to clinical promotion.

Compared with primates, although the differences in immunology and physiology of pigs are larger than those of humans, they have the advantages of large-scale production, similar to the size of human organs, and short growth cycles, high reproductive rates, and easy genetic modification, so they have gradually become recognized as more suitable donor animals for xenotransplantation.

Internationally, we have been studying xenotransplantation in pigs since 1995 and have accumulated more than 20 years of experience. At present, tissue engineering products such as corneas and heart valves of pigs have been widely used in human clinical practice, pig islet cell and skin xenotransplantation has entered the human clinical trial stage, and the xenograft of large organs such as pig kidneys has also completed preclinical trials, with the basis for human clinical trials.

In October 2021, U.S. surgeons successfully transplanted pig kidneys into humans for the first time without triggering rejection. The person who received the kidney transplant was a female patient with brain death who had kidney dysfunction.

China's scientific research in this field has also made many achievements and breakthroughs, such as in 2020, the international research team led by Chinese researchers successfully made a prototype of xenotransplantation that is expected to be used for clinical use - "pig 3.0", which has the characteristics of removing endogenous retroviruses in pigs and enhancing the immuncompatibility of heterogeneous organs.

The use of humorous ways to disseminate relevant information can indeed make more people pay attention to such serious scientific issues, for example, some media have called this news "the cross-border debut of the 'Eight Precepts'", which is quite charming, in line with the context of Internet communication.

But also avoid excessive "playing tricks" and ridicule, after all, this is a problem involving medical ethics and life saving. Whether it is for patients who have received transplants or pigs who have provided their organs, they may wish to have more seriousness and awe, and less teasing and jokes.

In fact, the path to organ xenotransplantation is still fraught with variables. First, xenotransplantation may carry varying degrees of risk, including transplant rejection, graft dysfunction, and transmission of identified or unidentified infectious diseases to recipients. Second, clinical trials of xenotransplantation must be strictly regulated.

All in all, the technical challenges and ethical dilemmas in this field deserve more public attention than the after-dinner ridicule. It is also hoped that with the advancement of technology, more patients can benefit from xenotransplantation and start a new life.