Sun Dec 01 05:57:38 UTC 2024: ## Monkey Lives Six Months with Gene-Edited Pig Kidney in Breakthrough Transplant
**Beijing, China** – Scientists at Huazhong University of Science and Technology’s Tongji Hospital have achieved a significant breakthrough in xenotransplantation, keeping a macaque monkey alive for 184 days with a gene-edited pig kidney. This marks a new benchmark for long-term survival in such procedures.
The monkey, which had its own kidneys removed, received the single transplanted kidney in May. While the kidney functioned normally for five months, the monkey’s immune system ultimately began rejecting the organ. This is expected, as even in human-to-human transplants, lifelong immunosuppressant drugs are necessary.
The success of this experiment, one of only about 20 such long-term survivals globally, is crucial for advancing clinical trials in human patients. The researchers highlight that pigs’ organs are a suitable size and metabolically similar to human organs, making them ideal candidates for transplantation. Lead researcher Chen Gang told the *South China Morning Post* that this achievement could significantly propel clinical research in the field.
This milestone follows previous successes, including a US study reporting two-year survival in monkeys with gene-edited pig kidneys, and the 2022 transplant of a genetically modified pig heart into a human patient with terminal heart disease. The significant wait times for human organ transplants, such as the 8-9 month average at AIIMS in India, underscore the urgent need for alternative solutions like xenotransplantation.
First Piper 