Surgeons Transplant Pig Kidney Into a Patient, a Medical Milestone
Source: The New York Times
Surgeons in Boston have transplanted a kidney from a genetically engineered pig into an ailing 62-year-old man, the first procedure of its kind. If successful, the breakthrough offers hope to hundreds of thousands of Americans whose kidneys have failed.
So far, the signs are promising. The new kidney began producing urine shortly after the surgery last weekend and the patient's condition continues to improve, according to physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital, known as Mass General. He is already walking the halls of the hospital and may be discharged soon.
A new source of kidneys "could solve an intractable problem in the field -- the inadequate access of minority patients to kidney transplants," said Dr. Winfred Williams, associate chief of the nephrology division at Mass General and the patient's primary kidney doctor.
If kidneys from genetically modified animals can be transplanted on a large scale, dialysis "will become obsolete," said Dr. Leonardo V. Riella, medical director for kidney transplantation at Mass General. The hospital's parent organization, Mass General Brigham, developed the transplant program.
Read more: Surgeons Transplant Pig Kidney Into a Patient, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/21/health/pig-kidney-organ-transplant.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eU0.iSMB.cu2SRRj_rl1F&smid=nytcore-android-share
Per the article:
● 800,000 Americans have kidney failure and require dialysis.
● Over 100,000 are on a waiting list to receive a transplant.
● Tens of millions of Americans have chronic kidney disease.
● three genes involved in potential rejection were removed.
● seven human genes were added to enhance compatibility.
● retrovirus pathogens were inactivated.
twodogsbarking
(9,754 posts)Marthe48
(16,963 posts)My best friend had a kidney transplant in 2018. She had to wait a long time for a donor. She is doing fine. I stayed with her as she recovered and met a lot of people who were transplant patients. The stories they told about waiting for an organ were sobering. And their joy at getting a second chance at life is unforgettable. If the number of kidneys available increases, it'll be a huge help to so many people, not just diabetics, but also people with other kinds of kidney disease or damage.
While she was on dialysis, her dr. installed an AV port for the dialysis treatment. It seems that it is easier to put an AV port in than remove, so she still has it. It failed in December and she had to have emergency surgery to save her arm. So far, so good. The vascular doctor put a valve from a cow in to the AV port, and it is working good now. They need regular maintenance, so if you have an AV port, talk to your dr.
Ray Bruns
(4,098 posts)Jean Genie
(273 posts)I guess this is a good thing. And I guess I'd feel even more positive about this if I - or my loved ones - needed the kidney. But I have to admit I have some serious reservations about "harvesting" organs from other sentient beings, even genetically modified ones.
Hekate
(90,704 posts)Miguelito Loveless
(4,465 posts)The poster was just expressing a misgivings, which is quite valid. It is easy to justify such a procedure when we know well never be in a situation where we are bred for organ harvesting.
Yet.
Hekate
(90,704 posts)Live donors who are impoverished in poor countries and #2 seemingly from China, where white collar crimes have been known to get the death penalty.
Urban legend? Conspiracy theory? I dont think so.
getagrip_already
(14,756 posts)Probably because it is discriminatory to some religions, or violates the sanctity of the human vessel, or something stupid about God and personhood and embryos (even pig embryos).
flying_wahini
(6,600 posts)She lived another 20 years with it.
flying_wahini
(6,600 posts)This little old lady that had gotten a couple of spotted pigs grafts (they grew off). She was a cute polka dotted patient for a while.
riversedge
(70,238 posts)a surgeon would not operate because of her age. But we found one who would use a pig bone to insert in her lower back to keep it straight and stop pinching on the nerve.
It worked and this was decades ago. She used a walker for many years--alert and no back pain.
riversedge
(70,238 posts)DoBW
(590 posts)Didn't Trump already get one? ( ok ... sorry pigs, mea culpa)( no offence to any legit comments either)
lastlib
(23,238 posts)a natural progression, I think....
Beakybird
(3,333 posts)Pluvious
(4,311 posts)Prairie_Seagull
(3,324 posts)is going to make for an interesting conversation. There are clearly ethics issues, If someone I knew and loved needed one? This would be a cringeworthy decision for me. I love bacon so I suppose that says it all really. I expect raised voices. My daughters are smart and strong young women and boy I mean girl howdy.
Native
(5,942 posts)I thought these two points most interesting:
1. Montgomery agreed that the practice raises important animal welfare questions. When I asked him about the euthanizing of the donor pig, he raised the question, Is it more humane to euthanize the pig and remove both kidneys for two transplants, or to remove one kidney and have the pig sustain the recovery period, where theres pain and risk of infection? Its also not clear who would care for a donor pig that did survive, and who could pay for that care.
2. Peter Singer, the moral philosopher at Princeton who helped launch the modern animal rights movement and is also a vocal advocate for kidney donation, told me in an email that he is cautiously supportive of even lethal pig donations. I would not insist on the pig surviving the surgery, because thats an uncertain benefit and would require twice as many pigs to be used, Singer wrote. What I would like to see is that all pigs involved in the procedure including at the research stage, which obviously will continue for some years, and including the pigs parents are reared in conditions that meet not only their physical needs but their psychological and social needs so not in a factory farm. That seems a minimum quid pro quo for the benefit the pig is conferring on humans.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22738680/pig-kidney-human-transplant
GregariousGroundhog
(7,523 posts)Native
(5,942 posts)it sounds like they are using new anti-rejection drugs. I sure hope this guy lives. He's been so sick for so long, and he's continued to work through it all.
Bayard
(22,075 posts)It would be even better if they could progress to growing them in a lab.
Both of my older sisters were Type 1 diabetics from an early age. Both had kidney failure. My oldest sister got one of my kidneys, so no waiting for her. She lived another 30+ years with it. My other sister had 2 cadaver transplants, because the first one failed. She lived another 30 years with that one.
What about the financial aspects of this procedure? Insurance is not going to pay for it as long as its considered experimental. You think surgeons will donate their services?
Pluvious
(4,311 posts)... this would go the same way "longevity treatment" would be deployed...
The rich and connected first
Native
(5,942 posts)Hekate
(90,704 posts),,,, hospital space/ supplies/ lifetime of anti rejection drugs/ follow up care,,,
republianmushroom
(13,595 posts)JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,343 posts)Anyway, yes, it is amazing.