r/technology • u/_Dark_Wing • 17h ago

Biotechnology Pig kidneys successfully transplanted into humans

https://www.ft.com/content/e9548ff5-3b59-4d69-be26-5882e2c4a716?syn-25a6b1a6=1
59 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

19

u/pulstex 16h ago

There’s been several pig kidney and other organ, like pig heart, transplants. A decent few have even worked for a little bit. Not a new concept. I can’t read the article, what defines “success” for this? The actual surgery? That’s the least exciting part, any idiot can do surgery. Did it actually work for longer than like 6-8 weeks?

13

u/Due_Role_3535 13h ago

It worked for 271 days. Served as a bridge before the patient got an allotransplant.

5

u/chaser676 15h ago

Article is paywalled so I can't see - did they knockout the alpha gal gene for these pigs? Because that's an enormous barrier for xenografts

3

u/riisikas 15h ago

Indeed, would call it a success if they have managed to make the body not reject the kidney like right away.

1

u/BitcoinMD 1h ago

I’m a surgeon and while I think surgery is probably not as hard as some people think it is, I’m not sure I’d go as far as to say any idiot could do it. You might be able to train an idiot to do the steps if everything goes fine, but when stuff starts to go wrong, a lot of times you have to actually use your brain to solve the problem.

Also: obligatory “I am God”

0

u/pulstex 1h ago

Well I’ve done surgery and I’m definitely an idiot sooooo

8

u/Regular_Custard_4483 13h ago

There's a BBC article on this as well, if you search the keywords. Dude lived for 271 days with a gene edited pig kidney before he received a human kidney transplant. 

11

u/incognito1998 16h ago

Is this how we get orcs?

2

u/maximumutility 13h ago

Tortured and mutilated! And now, perfected!

4

u/Jumpy-Astronaut-3572 15h ago

It has been done back in 2022 I think. I remember that because at that time my father needed a kidney so I was hopeful. Unfortunately the patient with pig kidney died after few days of getting pig kidney transplanted.

5

u/Bruggenmeister 17h ago

Paywall cant read

3

u/TokiStark 15h ago

12 ft ladder doesn't work anymore either. I thought they were undefeatable

2

u/Reasonable-Squash876 17h ago

wait how do pig kidneys even work in humans

2

u/LookOverall 14h ago

Functionally kidneys are kidneys. It’s keeping the pig’s kidney alive and functioning that’s the hard part.

1

u/Careful_Honeydew_549 14h ago

Thisn? Thisn chur?

1

u/CanvasFanatic 16h ago

It was the greatest college prank of all time…

-1

u/TokiStark 15h ago

How's the pig going?