Suleiman, who was the first to receive a pig kidney, was eligible to receive a human kidney, but because of his rare blood type, he would likely have to wait six to seven years before receiving a kidney. Pisano and the two pig heart patients were not eligible for human organ donation due to other medical issues.
Rooney was running out of options. Her health was failing, and after years of searching, there was little chance of finding a suitable human kidney. Her doctor, Jamie Locke, then an abdominal transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, had previously led short-term pig kidney transplants for brain-dead recipients and considered the experimental procedure as a last resort. Suggested. Rooney’s transplant was approved through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Compassionate Use Program, which is used when unapproved treatments are the only option for patients with serious or life-threatening conditions.
Locke worked with Robert Montgomery, director of the New York University Langone Transplant Institute, to perform Rooney’s seven-hour surgery. Mr. Locke currently serves as Director of the Division of Transplantation at the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Locke said Tuesday that Rooney will spend the next three months in New York City, where he will be closely monitored before returning to his home in Alabama.
Rooney received a kidney from a pig with 10 gene-edited genes developed by Livivicore, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics. Three pig genes known to trigger an immune response and the pig growth hormone receptor were removed. Six human genes were added to reduce the chance of rejection.
Because of the genetic differences between pigs and humans, researchers have turned to gene editing to make pig organs more compatible with the human body. However, in the field of xenotransplantation, there is debate over how much gene editing is required for pig organs to function long-term in humans. For Pisano’s surgery earlier this year, the New York University team used a donor pig with a single gene edit, a gene knockout that removed the alpha-gal sugar on the surface of the pig’s cells. This sugar causes rapid rejection of human pig organs. This donor pig also came from Revivicor.
The Massachusetts team took a different approach to Suleiman’s surgery, selecting a pig with 69 gene edits from the biotech company EGenesis. “These differences highlight the ongoing evolution of xenotransplantation strategies and highlight the potential benefits of improved compatibility through broader genetic modification,” said Dr.・Director Leonardo Riera says:
(Tag translation) Science
