Genetically-engineered pig hearts successfully transplanted into brain-dead patients

Researchers announced on Tuesday (July 12) that surgeons at NYU Langone Health have successfully transplanted genetically-engineered pig hearts into two brain-dead patients. This is the first-ever successful pig heart transplant into a living person. Experts say it is an encouraging step for the medical field.

After this organ transplant milestone, the researchers said they believe they are moving a step closer to a long-term goal of using pig parts to address the shortage of human organs for transplant.

The doctors have said that the hearts exhibited normal heart function in the days following the surgery. There were no signs of rejection during the three-day experiments in June and July.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

ALSO READ |Researchers discover that monkeypox patients shed significant virus load that are ‘potentially’ infectious

It was revealed that the experiments followed the death in March of a 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease who made history two months earlier at the University of Maryland as the first person to receive a genetically modified pig heart. The reasons why his new heart eventually failed are still unclear.

Nader Moazami, the heart transplantation surgical director at NYU Langone Transplant Institute, oversaw the procedures. Moazami said that the institute hopes to move forward with clinical trials using the organs in the future.

In a statement, Moazami, said, "It brings me great excitement to tell you that the function of the heart was excellent. We did have to make some technical surgical modifications at the time of transplantation."

ALSO READ |This magic chemical found in vegetables can double pace of your wound healing

Moazami further explained: "Part of that is because the pig heart is very similar, but is not identical to the human heart. Part of that was because in the first operation that we did, the heart was slightly undersized and we had to make some modifications."

The researchers said that hearts from pigs were engineered by Revivicor Inc and screened them for viruses using an enhanced monitoring protocol.

Xenotransplantation is safer in brain-dead recipients

For now, the researchers think xenotransplantation is safer in brain-dead recipients than in living patients. Also, more informative because biopsies can be done more often.

"We could determine that in tremendous detail by taking biopsies, looking at it under a microscope, doing special staining, analyzing, you know, the…, from a molecular standpoint, what was happening in that organ. So the detail, the amount we could learn was tremendous,"Moazami said.

NYU researchers also transplanted pig kidneys into two brain-dead recipients in 2021.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.