Organ transplant breakthrough as pig’s kidney survives in body of brain dead man for two months
- The kidney was observed in the body of 58-year-old Maurice Miller for 61 days
A pig’s kidney has been transplanted into a brain-dead man where it survived for two months, a breakthrough for the future of organ transplant surgery.
The genetically engineered kidney was observed in 58-year-old Maurice Miller’s body for 61 days before it was removed, life support was turned off and the body was returned to the family.
The study, the longest documented case of its kind, provides new hope for the future of organ supply for people in urgent need of a transplant.
It was the fifth xenotransplantation performed by the team from New York University’s Langone Transplant Institute, which took place on July 14.
It was removed from Mr Miller, who had been on a ventilator, on September 13, with the permission of his family, after he was declared brain dead. He had collapsed, but because he was suffering from cancer he could not donate his organs.
A pig’s kidney has been transplanted into the body of 58-year-old Maurice Miller (pictured), a brain-dead man, where he survived for two months
The genetically engineered kidney (pictured) was observed in Mr Miller’s body for 61 days before being removed
Dr. Robert Montgomery, who performed the operation, was himself a heart transplant recipient.
He said: ‘We have learned a lot over the past two months of close observation and analysis, and there is good reason to be hopeful for the future.
“None of this would have been possible without the incredible support we received from our late recipient’s family.
‘Thanks to them, we have been able to gain critical insight into xenotransplantation as a hopeful solution to the national organ shortage.’
The team ‘knocked out’ the single gene that codes for the biomolecule known as alpha-gal, which is responsible for the rapid rejection of pig organs by humans.
In addition, the pig thymus, which is responsible for the formation of the immune system, was fused with the pig kidney to prevent new, delayed immune reactions.
The genetically engineered organ worked fine for a month before the body started rejecting it.
But upon learning of this, the team gave Mr. Miller standard anti-rejection drugs and the organ bounced back and looked healthy and normal when it was removed.
Dr. Robert Montgomery (photo), who performed the operation, received a heart transplant himself
Jeffrey Stern (left) and Robert Montgomery (right) examine the pig kidney moments after blood flow to the organ is restored on July 14
While previous genetically engineered organ transplants from pigs have involved up to ten genetic modifications, this latest study shows that a single-gene pig kidney can perform optimally after two months.
Tissue collected during the study indicated some new cellular changes that surgeons had not previously observed, indicating a mild rejection process that required intensification of immunosuppressive medications to completely reverse it.
Dr. Montgomery added: ‘To create a sustainable, unlimited supply of organs, we need to know how to manage pig organs transplanted into humans.
‘By testing them in a deceased person, we can optimize the immunosuppression regimen and choice of gene edits without endangering a living patient.’
Researchers took approximately 180 different tissue samples from each major organ, such as the lymph nodes and digestive tract, to look for any hidden problems resulting from the xenotransplantation.
Dr. Montgomery performed the world’s first genetically modified pig kidney transplant in a human on September 25, 2021.
This was followed by a second similar procedure on November 22, 2021.
NYU Langone surgeons then performed two genetically engineered pig heart transplants in the summer of 2022.