Every day around the world people die. Die waiting for organs for transplantation. They just don’t have enough donors — the demand is too great. Xenotransplantation — the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from animal to human — can help us meet this demand for organs. Scientists from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have developed a series of tests that will help find out how safe and successful are xenografts of the future.
Thanks to the technique of CRISPR gene editing, we can modify animals in such a way that the person-recipient less likely to reject transplanted organs. However, rejection is not the only possible problem. There is also the likelihood that the transplanted organ will contain a virus or infection that will lead to disease of the recipient.
The organs of the pig man. Is it possible?
To ensure that the organs of pigs do not contain any infectious passengers, UAB scientists have developed a quantitative sample procedures that are designed to determine the presence, quantity or activity goal of 30 infectious agents, which in theory can go from pigs to humans.
Having tested the samples for the 9th sow and 22 piglets, scientists have determined that they are “very sensitive” and obtained results comparable to those used to check for viruses in humans. They hope that their analyses can help to usher in an era of xenotransplantation of organs.
It’s time to start. Pigs will save the world.
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Is it possible to transplant human organs pigs? Time to find out
Ilya Hel