A monkey that received a kidney from a genetically engineered miniature pig lived for more than two years after the transplant, researchers have claimed. Notably, it is one of the longest survival times for an inter-species organ transplant. Scientists are now hopeful that this could solve the human organ shortage by using animals as donors.
The groundbreaking work has been made possible by US biotech company eGenesis and Harvard Medical School, and the results of their study was published in Nature.
Notably, transplanting animal organs into humans, called xenotransplantation, could offer a solution to the chronic shortage of human organ donations. Dr Michael Curtis, the chief executive of eGenesis, said the ''extraordinary milestone'' provided hope for the approach and “may pave the way for better outcomes for countless individuals in need of lifesaving organ transplants”.
For the trial, researchers used a gene-editing tool called Crispr to alter genes in Yucatan miniature pigs before transplanting their kidneys into macaques. The scientists then transplanted the gene-edited pig kidneys into 21 monkeys that had their own kidneys removed. The recipients survived for a median of six months, with at least two out of 15 monkeys living for more than two years.
''Not only can we get up to a year, we can reach up to two years in the monkey. It sets the foundation to go to the clinic with confidence,'' said Mr Curtis.
Prior to the study, xenografts usually survived in nonhuman primates for around three months or less, as per Scientific American.
This is a ''proof of principle in non-human primates to say our [genetically engineered] organ is safe and supports life'', says Wenning Qin, a molecular biologist at the biotech firm eGenesis in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who co-authored the study published in Nature.
Current efforts focus on pigs, which are thought to be ideal donors for humans because of their organ size, their rapid growth and large litters, and the fact they are already raised as a food source.
Two humans have so far received pig heart transplants. The first recipient, David Bennett, however, died two months after surgery in 2022. Last month, a 58-year-old man became the world's second patient to receive a transplant of a genetically modified pig heart. In the past few years, doctors have transplanted kidneys from genetically modified pigs into brain-dead patients.
There are more than 103,000 people waiting for organ transplants in the United States, 88,000 of whom need kidneys.
