Surgeons exported the world’s first liver transplant from a pig to a human recipient.
The operation, performed in China, has a liver use of a pig that is genetically adapted to reduce the chance that the organ is rejected by a human immune system.
The organ successfully produced bile and essential protein to a patient who was brain dead but still alive.
Family members asked that the experiment be stopped after ten days, but the researchers say the organ could have functioned longer.
They considered the transplant as a ‘great achievement’, and European experts call it an important milestone that can save lives in the future.
The surgical team, from Xijing Hospital in Xi’an, took the liver from a Bama miniature pig that adapted six key genes to improve the compatibility of an organ when transplanted into a person.
According to the results published in the Science Journal Nature, the liver functioned normally, with good blood flow and no signs of rejection.
Professor Lin Wang, who led the research team, said the transplant was carried out with full ethical approval of medical authorities and consent of the patient’s family.
“Surgery was really successful,” he said at a news conference.
‘The liver of the pig functioned very well in the human body. So it’s a wonderful achievement. “
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Hearts and kidneys of genetically modified pigs have been transplanted into a handful of living patients. Most died within weeks of the operation, but it is understood that two people who had pig kidneys survived in the United States.
Professor Wang said that a liver transplant of a pig is much more complicated.
“A heart is just a pump, the kidney only produces urine,” he said.
“But the liver has a lot of functions, so it’s a big obstacle for us to solve.”
Several research groups experiment with pigs raised in super-clean facilities for organ donation.
Pigs are used because their organs are similar to size and structure as those in a human. But key genes must be amended to reduce the risk of being attacked by a patient’s immune system after transplantation.
The Chinese researchers suggest that pig organs be used as a temporary support, either to remove the pressure of the patient’s liver so that it can regenerate, or to give more time to find a permanent organ of a suitable human donor.
There are currently more than 600 patients on the waiting list for a liver transplant in the UK. The average wait for an organ of a deceased donor is three to four months.
Ivan Fernandez Vega, professor of pathological anatomy at the University of Oviedo in Spain, described the experiment as an important ‘milestone’.
“The clinical implications are very relevant, as the optimization of this approach can expand the pool of available organs and save lives in liver emergencies,” he said.
The Chinese team intends to repeat the experiment with more brain death patients for longer periods before progressing to the first clinical transplants in living people.
