Inside the First Ever Pig to Human Heart Transplant

For the first time ever, doctors have transplanted a pig heart into a human. The groundbreaking procedure used genetic modification and... cocaine?!

Thumbnail Credit: University of Maryland School of Medicine

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Let’s start simple. Any transfer of cells or tissues across species is called xenotransplantation. Even though it sounds like science fiction, it’s really nothing new.

Pig heart valves have been replacing worn-out human heart valves for the past 30 years. That’s because pig hearts are actually very similar in structure and size to human hearts. But replacing the ENTIRE heart with one from another species…that’s totally uncharted territory.

Thousands of people in the U.S. alone are on the waitlist for a new heart, and an average of 17 people on organ transplant waitlists die everyday.

But that’s because until now, we’ve only had human hearts as our whole organ transplant option. Pig hearts fit the bill, but what about that pesky immune response?

The answer just might be…genetic modification!

#Seeker #Science #Elements #HeartTransplant #OrganTransplant #Anatomy

Read More:
Will animal-to-human organ transplants overcome their complicated history?
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/animal-human-organ-transplants-pig-kidney-heart-history
That said, the Maryland heart operation was a Hail Mary rescue attempt and not part of a clinical trial — the kind of carefully designed study that is ultimately needed to show whether pig organs can function in humans, and do so safely.

German researchers to breed pigs for human heart transplants
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/03/german-researchers-to-breed-pigs-for-human-heart-transplants
German scientists plan to clone and then breed this year genetically modified pigs to serve as heart donors for humans, based on a simpler version of a US-engineered animal used last month in the world’s first pig-to-human transplant.

Three ethical issues around pig heart transplants
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59951264
Mr Bennett's treatment has also re-sparked a debate over the use of pigs for human transplants, which many animal rights groups oppose. One of them, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has condemned Mr Bennett's pig heart transplant as "unethical, dangerous, and a tremendous waste of resources".

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