Pennsylvania, US

A successfully conducted experiment is providing hope to medics that one day pigs might just aid people in case of liver failures, a first-of-its-kind breakthrough if achieved. This comes as surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania were able to externally connect a pig liver to a brain-dead human body. The researchers observed that the experiment culminated in the successful filtering of blood. This innovative approach will now pave the path for animal-to-human organ transplants. 

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The unique twist in this experiment lies in the external usage of the pig liver, and not putting the animal liver inside the human body.

Therefore, by doing this researchers were able to use the pig liver just like a "bridge" for blood cleansing. Liver blood filtering is an important function to purify blood that circulates through the body and helps set the organ to return to its normal circulation.

Driven by the challenges of human immune system rejection in xenotransplants (animal-to-human transplants), scientists have now turned to genetically modifying pig organs. These modified organs are more human-like and the body does not resist the foreign tissue of the animal.

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What is the latest experiment? 

In the University of Pennsylvania experiment, a genetically modified pig liver from eGenesis was attached to a device by OrganOx, designed to preserve donated human livers before transplantation.

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The person on whom the test was conducted had organs that were not suitable for donation and therefore the family agreed to offer the body for research. The machines ensured the circulation of blood throughout the experiment, which was conducted last month.

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During the experiment, blood was successfully filtered through the pig liver device for 72 hours.

The Penn research team reported that the donor's body remained stable, and the pig liver exhibited no signs of damage, a good indicator for the future aspirations of the researchers regarding animal-to-human transplants.

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Dr. Parsia Vagefi of UT Southwestern Medical Centre reportedly said, "I applaud them for pushing this forward." With approximately 10,000 people currently awaiting liver transplants in the US, finding innovative solutions is critical.

(With inputs from agencies)