The operation’s early success has made researchers hopeful that clinical trials for xenotransplanted organs will start soon.
The early success of the first transplant of a pig kidney into a living person has raised researchers’ hopes that larger clinical trials involving pig organs will soon become a reality. Such trials could bring xenotransplantation — the use of animal organs in human recipients — into the clinic.
The recipient of the pig kidney is a 62-year-old man with end-stage renal failure named Richard Slayman. He is recovering well after the surgery on 16 March, according to his transplant surgeon. The kidney was taken from a miniature pig carrying a record 69 genomic edits, which were aimed at preventing rejection of the donated organ and reducing the risk that a virus lurking in the organ could infect the recipient.