Animal to human transplant science took a major step forward this week after surgeons transplanted a kidney and a liver from pigs into humans.
In Boston, an ailing 62-year-old man received a genetically-altered kidney from a pig in a world first.
The new organ began to produce urine almost immediately, doctors at Mass General said, and the patient is already walking the hospital’s halls. He may soon be discharged.
At the same time in China, a 50-year-old man became the first person to receive a genetically-engineered liver from a pig — which was kept in his body for ten days.
Surgeons say the organ’s color and texture appeared ‘normal’ upon extraction and that it was even secreting bile — a fluid aiding digestion — in a sign it was working.
Both breakthroughs could offer hope for new ways to supply hospitals with organs for transplants, as the waiting list runs into years.
Hellbound and Down 