Human transplantation of pig kidneys and pig livers has been successful! This technology is expected to save tens of millions of lives every year!
Shaanxi Xijing Hospital successfully carried out a pig kidney transplant into the human body on March 25, and it was successful. No rejection was observed. That's remarkable!
Globally, at least 2.4 million people die each year from chronic kidney disease.
There are about 300,000 new cases of kidney failure in China every year, with a mortality rate of up to 80%.
The pig kidneys used in this case are genetically edited. The target pigs were cultured at the embryonic stage to closely resemble the patient's genes.
Gene Editing is a process in which site-specific double-strand breaks (DSBs) are generated at specific locations in the genome, and DSBs are repaired through non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) or homologous recombination (HR) while completing gene editing.
In layman's terms, it is to knock out some unwanted genes on the double helix of pig DNA, and then connect some of the genes of humans.
The donor pig was provided by Chengdu Zhongke Auge Biotechnology Co., Ltd., with type O blood, 42.5 kg, knocking out 3 genes that can cause hyperacute rejection, and transferring a human complement regulatory protein gene and a human coagulation regulatory protein gene.
Zhongke Auge Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is a veritable organ factory. A little more cubs in sows in this company is big news, because a pig can save a lot of lives when it grows up.
Gene-edited pigs are highly similar to humans, and there will be no rejection in organ transplantation. Theoretically speaking, pigs' hearts, livers, spleens, lungs and kidneys can be provided to people, so a pig can save many people's lives.
In November 2023, Xijing Hospital transplanted different organs from a pig to six monkeys, verifying the possibility of a pair of multiple organ transplants.
On March 10, 2024, under the leadership of Academician Dou Kefeng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery Tao Kaishan, a major breakthrough was made in the clinical research of xenotransplantation in Xijing Hospital of the Air Force Military Medical University: the whole liver of a multi-gene edited pig was successfully transplanted into a brain-dead patient in an adjuvant manner. During the operation, bile was secreted immediately after the transplanted liver was restored, and no hyperacute rejection was observed.
Xenotransplantation refers to the transplantation of organs from species other than humans into the human body to prolong human life, and is considered one of the most effective ways to solve the shortage of human organs. "It's a completely disruptive technology, and it's been called a new 'medical revolution' that can open up new industries. Pan Dengke, founder and chairman of Chengdu Zhongke Auge Biological Company, said.
Pan Dengke is China's first somatic cell cloned pig man, and came to Sichuan in 2018 to found Zhongke Aoge, the company is at the forefront of gene-edited pig breeding.
In the past, there was a very popular profession was home appliance repair, but now it is rare, my brother-in-law is a home appliance repairman, and now he has changed his career for many years, I asked him why he didn't do it? He said that now the home appliances are broken and thrown away for new ones, and few people repair them. So, if there is a problem with people's heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys, can they also be replaced?
In the future, will the replacement of organs in the human body be as common as the replacement of parts for car maintenance?
If it is realized, how many regrets will be reduced in the world.