The first pig-to-human lung transplant has just been performed by scientists. On August 25, researchers from Natures Medicine publicized results pertaining to the transplant. The procedure was done on a patient who had been declared brain-dead. The pig used for transplantation had been genetically modified and placed into the patient with the risk of rejection from the body.
The lung started to fill with fluid one day after the operation, and it started to show signs of inflammation. On day three, the patient’s immune system started to attack the lung. After nine days, the lung was unfortunately rejected and filled with fluid.
The purpose of transplanting organs between species (xenotransplantation) is to research the possibility of harvesting from other animals to reduce wait lists for organs that otherwise might be hard to obtain. While the lung transplant was successful, xenotransplantation will most likely not be seen in the near future due to complications with longevity and immunity of the organs.
The pictures above capture the lungs in intervals up to day nine.
Sources: Nature.com, ScienceNews.org
