Major breakthrough! The world's first pig heart transplant to human body surgery was successful!
TEDA Hospital, Tianjin University | Li Qing
The 2022 Medical Drama opened wonderfully.
On January 7, the University of Maryland Medical Center in the United States completed the world's first successful operation to transplant a pig's heart into the human body, which lasted a total of 8 hours, and as of January 10, the patient was in good condition.
In October 2021, New York University Langone Medical Center in the United States just completed a pig kidney transplant that transplanted a pig kidney into a patient with brain death complicated by uremia and was successful.
The success of this pig heart transplant is another major breakthrough in xenotransplantation technology in the past 3 months, and the pace of medical progress has reached a new level, and many people's lives will be saved.
The recipient of the heart transplant was a 57-year-old patient with a severe heart attack who had exhausted various treatments, but the condition was still getting worse, to the point of "either dying or changing the heart", but there was no suitable organ donation at present.
The doctor decided to "take a gamble" and told the patient that he could transplant a pig's heart, and although no one had ever done this before, we thought we could do it.
After consideration, the patient and his family agreed to the operation, which of course was approved by the health authorities.
During the operation, when the pig's heart restores blood supply after the blood vessel is connected, the heart immediately beats up and begins to work normally.
At present, the heart function of pigs is normal and can bear most of the functional needs of the human body, but the prognosis of patients is still uncertain, and they still rely on machines to assist life.
However, the crucial first 48 hours have been safely spent without rejection.
The doctors involved in the operation are not "gamblers", they dare to give it a go, and they are supported by strong basic scientific research.
The pigs that provide the organs are not ordinary pigs either, but genetically modified pigs provided by Revivicor, a regenerative pharmaceutical company in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The pig's 10 genes were modified and 4 genes were knocked out or inactivated to reduce rejection in humans.
In addition, one of the pig's growth genes was also inactivated to prevent the transplanted pig's heart from continuing to grow.
What's more, six human genes were inserted into the pig's genome with the aim of making the pig's organs more adaptable to the human immune system.
In fact, before this operation, basic researchers and clinicians had already done a lot of research together.
The so-called "bold people are bold", "ten minutes on stage, ten years offstage", every breakthrough in new technology is the result of the silent work and accumulation of many scientific researchers.
According to the World Health Organization, about 2 million people around the world need organ transplants every year, however, the biggest problem hindering these patients is not the technical problem, but the severe shortage of organ donors, with the global average organ supply-demand ratio of less than 1:20.
In the United States, for example, there are now 110,000 people waiting for organ transplants, but only 30,000 people wait for organs to be operated on every year, and on average, more than 20 people die in waiting every day.
There are about 300,000 organ transplants in China every year, and less than 20,000 people have completed surgery, and the biggest obstacle is the limited source of donor organs.
Everyone has 2 kidneys, and healthy people can survive healthily even if they donate one kidney; the liver is very large, and even if a part of the liver function is cut off and donated to others, the liver function will not be affected.
But there is only one heart, and donating one heart means a new birth and a death, so heart transplantation is more difficult.
Humans can only set their sights on animals.
In 1984, American cardiologists transplanted the heart of a baboon to a dying baby girl who was born with severe cardiac insufficiency, but without success, the baby girl died of body rejection and organ failure on the 21st day after surgery.
Since then, scientists have gradually focused their attention on xenotransplantation on pigs.
Pigs are favored by researchers and do have its advantages.
#1基因相似度高
Pigs and humans belong to the same mammals, the two have high genetic similarities, and the rejection response after organ transplantation is relatively small.
#2器官大小相近
The size of pigs is similar to that of humans, and the size and characteristics of organs are also similar to those of humans, for example, the heart rate of pigs is comparable to that of humans, about 70/min.
#3猪的繁育简单, the cost is low
Pigs are bred quickly, and the technology is mature, and pigs in half a year to 2 years are enough to mature, and the cost of feeding is much lower than that of other mammals.
#4伦理上更易接受
Primates such as orangutans are genetically closer to humans, but the ethical acceptance of these human "close relatives" who are bred and killed in large numbers to provide organs. Pigs, which are originally meat animals, it is logical to contribute their organs.
However, many people have a question: if the life span of pigs is so short, is the life span of pig organs equally short?
In fact, the natural life expectancy of pigs is not short, we humans shorten its lifespan, and Sichuan's "pigs are strong" live for 13 years.
Moreover, the lifespan of the organ and the lifespan of the species are not exactly the same, uremia patients, kidney "death" (loss of function), under the support of dialysis can survive for decades; the same uremia patients, even if transplanted a healthy person's kidney, if not well maintained, may not be able to survive for 10 years.
If properly protected, the living environment of the human body can ensure the long-term survival of pig organs in the human body.
In any case, xenotransplantation will usher in a new era of medicine, and many patients will be reborn as a result.
Hats off to the scientists!