The operation was successfully carried out in March 2024 and a year later, the researchers share more details on the process.
The surgery was used by a pig which had been genetically amended to reduce the likelihood of the organ of the organ by the human immune system.
Relatives asked to stop the experiment after 10 days, but the researchers say the instrument could work for a longer period.
They welcomed transplantation as a “great achievement” and European experts described it as an important milestone that could save lives in the future.
The Xijing Hospital surgery on Xi’an took the liver from a tiny bama pig. Six main genes of the Highlands were modified to improve the compatibility of the organ when transplanted to humans.
According to the results, published in the journal Nature, the liver worked normally, with good blood flow and no signs of rejection. The organ successfully produced bile and basic proteins in a patient who was brainly dead but still alive. The operation was successfully carried out in 2024 and a year later, the researchers share more details on the process.
The operation was successfully carried out in March 2024 and a year later, the researchers share more details on the process.
Professor Lynn Wang, head of the research team, said the transplant was performed with full ethical approval by the medical authorities and the consent of the patient’s family.
“Surgery was really successful,” he said at a press conference.
“The liver from the pig worked very well in the human body. Therefore, this is a great achievement. “
Liver transplantation is more difficult than heart transplant
Hearts and kidneys from genetically modified pigs have already been transplanted to some people suffering from diseases. Most died within a few weeks of surgery, but two people who have been transplanted pigs live in the US, according to Sky News.
Professor Wang explained that comparatively, a liver liver transplant is a very complicated process.
“The heart is just a pump, the kidney only produces urine,” he said.
“But the liver has many functions, so this is a huge obstacle to solve.”
Several research groups are experimenting with pigs raised in special installations for organ donation.
Pigs are used because their organs are similar in size and structure to those of man. But basic genes must be modified to reduce the risk of being infected by the patient’s immune system after transplantation.
Pig transplant transplantation can give temporary support to patients
Chinese researchers suggest the use of pig organs as temporary support, either to discharge the patient’s liver to regenerate, or to give more time to find a permanent organ from an appropriate human donor.
Indicatively, there are currently more than 600 patients on the waiting list for a liver transplant only in the United Kingdom. Currently, the average waiting for an instrument from a deceased donor is three to four months.
Ivan Fernandez Vega, Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Oviedo in Spain, described the experiment an important “milestone”.
“The clinical effects are extremely significant, as the optimization of this approach could broaden the tank of the available organs and save lives in emergency cases,” he said.
The Chinese team plans to repeat the experiment in more brain dead patients for longer periods before proceeding with the first clinical transplants into living people.
Source: lifo.gr