Scientists To Breed Genetically-Modified Pigs Specifically For Heart Transplants

With transplantable organs in shortage, scientists are rushing to bring more choices to patients who may need them urgently. This year saw a breakthrough: In a medical-first, University of Maryland Medicine surgeons successfully inserted a genetically-modified pig heart into a human. The 57-year-old patient’s doctors have reported that considering the feat, the man is in good health, though some health risks remain.

A regular pig heart would be rejected by the human body, so the one used in the transplant was gene-edited with 10 modifications, including the removal of a sugar.

Encouraged by the medical marvel, German scientists now intend to clone and breed genetically-modified pigs, with hearts of a simpler configuration than the one used by University of Maryland Medicine scientists.

Instead of the 10 genetic changes, the new versions—derived from the heart of the Auckland Island breed—will feature five, Reuters reports.

Eckhard Wolf, a scientist at the Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich and one of the project’s researchers, says the earliest of these pigs should be born this year. Their hearts would first be tested in baboons before anticipated human clinical trials in 2025 or earlier.

Although it can be said that this process has the potential to shorten the waitlist for suitable organ donors and save more human lives, it has understandably caused an upset with animal rights activists, who point out that the importance of the mammals’ lives is being disregarded.

“Animals should not serve as spare parts for humans,” says Kristina Berchtold of the Animal Welfare Association in Munich. “A pet, a so-called farm animal, a clone or a naturally-born animal all have the same needs, fears and also rights.”

[via Euronews and Reuters, cover photo 137496143 © Piyapong Thongdumhyu | Dreamstime.com]