A second pig kidney transplant was performed on a living patient in the United States: this is a procedure known as xenograft. Explanations.
- For the second time, a pig kidney transplant has been performed on a human living in the United States.
- Currently, no signs of rejection have been observed after xenografting.
- The pig was chosen as the donor species because its organs share many morphological and physiological similarities with those of humans.
In the United States, Lisa Pisano, aged 54, was the second living person to benefit from a genetically modified pig transplant. She also received a heart pump, which was implanted in her chest during an initial surgery. The patient suffered, in fact, from both heart failure and terminal kidney disease.
Pig kidney transplant was not rejected by the patient’s body
The operation to implant the joint pump took place on April 4, followed by the kidney transplant, also called xenograft, on April 12.. “We have combined two wonders of modern medicine in a new way”, announced Dr. Robert Montgomery, who conducted the kidney transplant, during a press conference at NYU Langone Hospital in New York. During the operation, a piece of the pig’s thymus was also implanted, to help the patient’s immune system accept the foreign tissue.
At present, Lisa Pisano’s body has not shown any signs of rejection. The doctor also stated that it is a “another important step in our journey to ensure lifesaving organs are available to everyone who needs them.”
Xenotransplantation to cope with the lack of human organs
In 2023, more than 20,000 people were on a waiting list for an organ transplant in France, according to Inserm. Only 5,636 patients were able to benefit from it due to the shortage of human organs or “grafts”. To meet the needs of patients, the scientific community is trying to develop xenografts. This involves transplanting tissues or organs taken from an animal into human patients, sometimes temporarily.
Scientists mainly use biotechnology to produce genetically modified animals whose organs will be used in xenografts. “Since 2021, several xenotransplantations of pig kidneys thus modified have been carried out on brain dead patients in the United States (with the agreement of the families and an ethics committee). The pig was chosen as donor species, in particular because its organs share many morphological and physiological similarities with ours”, has indicated Inserm.
Lisa Pisano is therefore the second living person to benefit from a pig organ. Last March, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced that it had performed a first genetically modified pig transplant on a patient. The latter is still doing well, according to Leonardo Riella, medical director of kidney transplantation at the American establishment.