Advances that give people heart

Both literally and figuratively! Over 100,000 American citizens currently await an organ transplant – 17 people die each day since that need is not met. But fear not, for pigs are coming to the rescue! Seriously: over the past few decades, swine have played a vital role in medical research to ‘fill the gap’ in organ availability – not only hearts.

• So far, xenotransplantation has been attempted with pig kidneys and modified hearts, for example, and the longest that a patient has lived after such procedures is 2 months. 

It’s not as simple as harvesting organs and transplanting them – preparation and care begin long before the pig is born.

• In short, future donor pigs receive the gene-editing tool CRISPR to “humanize” their organs, as a number of genes are added or deleted.
• Then, the animals are raised in completely sterile environments, to make sure no infections happen.
• Finally, the organs are ready to be harvested and transplanted after the animals complete six months of age.

The ability to ensure a “clean pig” – free of even dormant viruses – continues to be a challenge in moving toward a solution to organ transplant needs across the country.