"Tim Andrews, 67, had the organ removed on Oct. 23 because its function was declining, according to Mass General Brigham. In a statement, his transplant team called Andrews "a selfless medical pioneer and an inspiration" to patients with kidney failure. Andrews' experience illustrates lessons researchers have learned with each experiment involving what's called xenotransplantation. The first attempts using pig organs gene-edited to be more humanlike - two hearts and two kidneys - were short-lived."
"Then researchers began considering patients not nearly as sick as prior recipients for these experiments - and an Alabama woman's pig kidney lasted 130 days before it had to be removed last spring, the record Andrews surpassed. More than 100,000 people, most needing kidneys, are on the U.S. transplant list, and thousands die waiting. Andrews, of Concord, New Hampshire, knew his blood type is particularly hard to match and sought an alternative, getting into shape to qualify for Mass General's xenotransplant pilot study."
Tim Andrews, 67, received a gene-edited pig kidney and lived with it for a record 271 days before surgeons removed the organ on Oct. 23 because its function was declining. His transplant team called him a selfless medical pioneer and an inspiration to patients with kidney failure. Early xenotransplantation attempts using gene-edited pig organs, including two hearts and two kidneys, were short-lived. Researchers then enrolled patients who were less critically ill, enabling longer graft survival such as an Alabama woman whose pig kidney lasted 130 days. More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, most needing kidneys. Commercial developers are preparing clinical trials.
Read at Boston.com
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