The transplantation of a pig kidney into a human

A controversial and risky surgical intervention. It was performed on a brain-dead organ donor. His family authorized the research. Thus was performed the transplantation of a pig kidney into a human.

Transplantation of a pig kidney into a human was risky and complex.
Transplantation of a pig kidney into a human was risky and complex.

Major risks

Expected to be a formal procedure at some point. First thing to evaluate the possibility of foreign organ rejection. There could be viral transmission or additional surgical complications. It is clear that a lot of experimentation is still needed.
“There are a lot of questions. We need to answer them with efficacy and very responsible clinical trials.” This is what is quoted in the study published at American Journal of Transplantation.

In September 2021, a team of physicians performed a similar experiment. The patient was also brain dead. The organ functioned normally during the 54-hour study. But the kidney remained outside the recipient’s body throughout the experiment.

The actual experiment lasted several days. And the transplantation was not of one, but of both kidneys. They remained inside the recipient’s body following the procedure step by step. The details explained surgeon Jayme Locke of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The physicians dealt with a patient who is brain dead.
Physicians dealt with a patient who is brain dead.

Distorted functions

Doctors removed from the human recipient both kidneys. They then placed the pig kidneys. The body did not generate an immune response against the kidney.

Both kidneys produced urine in different amounts. But neither filtered waste from the blood as a fully functioning kidney would. It is not clear whether this dysfunction came from damage to the kidneys. It may have been related to physiological changes caused by brain death.

“The environment of brain death is quite hostile. It makes it difficult to assess kidney function,” said surgeon Jayme Locke. Transplanting a pig kidney into a human is still not entirely successful. In the experiment, the patient’s organs began to fail. Various drugs were used to counteract the effects of brain death. That was able to undermine the function of the pig kidneys.

This transplant may be of great benefit for future trials. But many questions remain about the procedure. Someday, when its feasibility is certain, it will be a feat. And it could change the outlook on life for many patients.

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