A 62-year-old man who had previously received a human kidney transplant in 2018 at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, United States, made history on March 16 when he underwent a groundbreaking operation to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. The surgery, which lasted four hours, was the first of its kind in the world and represents significant progress in the field of medicine where organs or tissues are transplanted between species.
The successful operation opens up possibilities for addressing the global shortage of organs as transplanting organs from animals to humans could provide a solution. According to hospital officials, the man is recovering well from the operation, marking a historic milestone in medical history. The breakthrough comes after earlier successes in transplanting genetically modified pig organs into humans, including brain-dead individuals and recipients of pig hearts.
The man expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to not only help himself but also provide hope to thousands of others in need of organ transplants. He said that he made the decision to try the genetically modified pig kidney transplant because it offered better future prospects than his previous human kidney transplant that stopped functioning five years later. This breakthrough is expected to have far-reaching implications for medical research and could pave the way for further advancements in organ transplants between species.
