Genetically Modified Pigs: A Potential Solution to the Organ Shortage?

Image from OpenArt - not so good at signage as you see.

An experiment has just been carried out whereby a man with advanced kidney disease has been given the kidney of a genetically-modified pig. He has been discharged from hospital: we await developments.

So how does that work? I asked Gemini for a tutorial article.

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Genetically Modified Pigs: A Potential Solution to the Organ Shortage?

The lack of available organs for transplant is a critical issue impacting countless patients worldwide. Genetically modified pigs are emerging as a possible solution, offering a new source of organs that could revolutionize the field of transplantation. By making specific changes to pig genes, scientists are working to create organs more compatible with the human immune system and minimize the risk of disease transmission.

These modifications address two key challenges: rejection and disease transmission. First, scientists target specific sugar molecules on pig cells that trigger a strong rejection response in humans. Using techniques like CRISPR, they remove the coding for these sugars, making the organs appear more human-like and reducing the risk of rejection. Additionally, they introduce coding for human regulatory proteins into the pig genome. These proteins help the recipient's body better accept the transplanted organ.

Secondly, researchers focus on minimizing the risk of transmitting animal viruses to humans. Pigs carry endogenous retroviruses that could potentially infect transplant recipients. To address this concern, scientists are developing pigs with inactive retroviral genes in their DNA.

While promising, this technology faces several hurdles before widespread use. The field is still in its early stages. Initial clinical trials are underway to assess the safety and function of pig organs in a small number of participants. Even after successful trials, obtaining regulatory approval from organizations like the FDA can be a lengthy process, taking several years.

Scaling up production of genetically modified pigs for transplants will also require time and resources. Herds need to be established, breeding protocols optimized, and proper facilities built to maintain a clean and controlled environment. Additionally, a robust system for matching pig organs to recipients based on factors like blood type and size needs to be developed.

Given these steps, widespread availability of pig-to-human transplants is likely several years away, with estimates suggesting a timeframe of 5 to 10 years.

There's another challenge to consider: even with a mature process, genetically modified pigs wouldn't entirely eliminate the waitlist problem. Since the genetic engineering happens at the foetal cell stage, the pigs require sufficient time to grow organs to a suitable size for transplantation. This growth period, estimated at least 6 months, means patients in critical need of immediate transplants might not benefit from this technology.

However, the potential of xenotransplantation using genetically modified pigs remains significant. This approach has the potential to offer a new lifeline to patients who would otherwise not survive long enough for a traditional human donor organ. Researchers are also actively exploring methods to accelerate pig organ growth, which could further revolutionize organ transplantation and save countless lives.