China reports first successful pig lung transplant into human body: Nature
Photo: Medical Dialogue / iStock
LONDON, 29 August (BelTA — Xinhua) — For the first time on record, a
lung from a genetically modified pig has been successfully transplanted
into a human body, Chinese scientists announced in a study published in
Nature.
«Lungs are complex organs to transplant, but the surgery is a step towards clinical trials,» Nature reported Tuesday.
The
recipient, a 39-year-old man in China who was brain dead, received the
lung that had undergone six genetic modifications to improve
compatibility with humans. The organ remained viable and functioning for
nine days in his body with no signs of hyperacute rejection or
infection.
He Jianxing, corresponding author of the study, told
Xinhua that with growing global demand for organ transplants,
xenotransplantation is considered a promising solution to the shortage
of donors. He said the achievement marked a vital step forward in lung
xenotransplantation.
«This study marks a milestone in
translational medicine,» said Beatriz Dominguez-Gil, director of the
National Transplant Organisation.
At least half a dozen people in
China and the United States have so far received genome-edited pig
organs, including hearts, kidneys, livers, and a thymus.
Dominguez-Gil
highlighted the significance of the breakthrough, noting that lungs are
especially difficult to transplant due to their delicate physiological
balance. They receive a very high blood flow and are constantly exposed
to ambient air, making them particularly vulnerable.
«Lungs are
the most difficult organ to transplant,» said Muhammad Mohiuddin, a
surgeon and researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine
in Baltimore, who in 2022 led the first pig-heart transplant into a
living person.
«I applaud their effort,» he was quoted by Nature
as saying. «It’s a first step» toward lung xenotransplantation — the use
of animal organs in humans.
