Animal Organ Donors?

Scientists were able to keep a pig heart beating in baboon for over two years.

17:16 07 April 2016

Scientists were successful in keeping a pig heart alive in a baboon for more than two years, giving hope to addressing the shortage of human donors.

 

The US-German team combined gene modification and immune-suppressing drugs to address previous cross-species transplant-related problems wherein powerful immune reaction is triggered leading to the rejection of the organ by the host.

 

Co-author Muhammad Mohiuddin, from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in Maryland, said: "It is very significant because it brings us one step closer to using these organs in humans,"

 

"Xenotransplants - organ transplants between different species - could potentially save thousands of lives each year that are lost due to a shortage of human organs for transplantation."

 

In their experiment, the pig hearts were connected to the baboon’s circulatory system via two large vessel in the animal’s abdomen. The transplanted heart beat like a normal heart but the baboon’s own heart was kept in place and continued to function of pumping blood, a known method in studying organ rejection.

 

While the median survival rate was 298 days, the scientists were able to keep the pig’s heart alive in baboon for 945 days or just over two-and-a-half years.