United Therapeutics receives FDA approval to test pig kidneys in living humans, aiming to address the organ shortage crisis. Over 100,000 Americans await transplants, with 90,000 needing kidneys. The trial will initially involve six patients before potentially expanding to 50. Another company, eGenesis, also received FDA approval for a separate kidney study in December.
United Therapeutics along with another company, eGenesis, have been working since 2021 on experiments implanting pig kidneys into humans: initially brain-dead patients and more recently living recipients.
The trial will initially enroll six patients with end-stage renal disease before expanding to as many as 50, United Therapeutics said in a statement. The first transplant is expected in mid-2025. "The study will evaluate patients with kidney failure who are listed for a transplant but who face a low probability of receiving a deceased donor offer within a five-year timeframe," the company said.
Early experiments in primates faltered, but advances in gene editing and immune system management have brought the field closer to reality.
Xenotransplantation Organ Shortage Pig Kidneys FDA Approval Gene Editing
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