Chinese doctors successfully transplant the liver of the pig into man

Paris: Chinese doctors said on Wednesday that they had successfully transplanted a genetically modified liver of pig into a man who had begun in the brain for the first time, signaling a significant discovery in organ transplantation and increasing hopes of new solutions.

Pigs have emerged as the best animal organs donors, with several living patients in the US who have received pigs or hearts in recent years.

Livers have proven to be more difficult – and had not previously been tested in a human body.

But with a huge and increasing demand for liver donations around the world, researchers hope that pigs who have been processed with genes can provide at least temporary relief to patients with severe patients in long waiting lists.

Doctors at the fourth military medical University in Xi’an, China, announced the latest discovery of the field in a study published in Nature magazine.

A liver from a tiny pig, which had six processed genes to become a better dress, was transplanted into a brain adult on March 10, 2024, according to the study.

The trial ended after 10 days at the request of the family, the doctors said, adding that they had followed strict ethical guidelines.

‘Bridge organ’

The patient, whose name, gender and other details were not revealed, still had his original liver, receiving what is called auxiliary transplantation.

The hope is that this type of transplant can serve as a “bridge organ” to support the existing liver of patients waiting for a human donor.

During the 10 days, doctors watched liver blood flow, bile production, immune response and other basic functions.

The pig liver “worked very well” and “smoothly secreting bile” as well as producing albumin protein protein, co-author Lin Wang of Xi’an Hospital said at a press conference.

“It’s a great achievement” that could help people with liver problems in the future, he added.

Other researchers also welcomed the discovery, but emphasized that this early step could not confirm whether the pig’s organ would act as a replacement for human livers.

Liver transplants have proven to be difficult because the organ performs several different functions – as opposed to hearts, for example, which simply pump blood, Lin said.

Liver filters the blood of the body, breaking substances such as drugs and alcohol, as well as the production of bile that removes waste and breaks down fats.

The pig liver produced much smaller amounts of bile and albumin than a human liver could achieve, Lin said.

More research is required – including the study of the pig liver for more than 10 days, he added.

Then, doctors plan to try the pig liver in a living person.

‘Impressive’

Professor of transplantation at the University of Oxford, Professor Peter Friend, who did not participate in the study, said the results were “valuable and impressive”.

However, “this is not a replacement for the liver transplantation by human donors (at least in the short term),” he told AFP in an email.

“This is a useful test of the compatibility of genetically modified liver with humans and shows a future in which these livers can provide support to patients in hepatic insufficiency.”

Lin stressed that collaboration with US researchers was vital.

“To be honest, we have learned a lot of all the surveys being carried out and investigated by the doctors of the United States,” he said.

Last year, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania gave a pig liver to a patient with a brain-but instead of being transplanted, the organ remained out of the body.

Both recipients of the heart transplants died.

However, Towana Looney, 53, is back at home in Alabama after receiving a pig of pigs on November 25, 2024.