According to U.S. media on October 27, a U.S. man received a gene-edited pig kidney transplant almost 9 months after the kidney failure of pig kidney was removed, and re-started dialysis treatment. Researchers said that the pig kidneyined function in the human body for 9 months, a new record for the long survival of pig kidney transplant in similar trials, providing important reference for foreign organ transplant research.

According to reports, on January 25th this year, surgeons at Brigham Medical Center of Massachusetts General Hospital transplanted a gene-edited pig kidney to Tim Andrews, a 67-year-old patient from New Hampshire. The pig kidney used in the operation has undergone 69 gene edits, including "knocking out" genes that can cause human rejection, and adding some human genes to improve the compatibility of animal organs with human bodies, while reducing the risk of cross-species transplantation.

Andrews temporarily escaped dialysis treatment after the transplant operation, setting the longest record for a genetically edited pig kidney to survive in a human body. Despite gene editing and a strong immunosuppression protocol, he still experienced rejection of the transplanted organ. According to the hospital, on the evening of the 23rd of this month, doctors performed surgery to remove pig kidneys. Andrews said the rejection and side effects of the drugs were too much for his body to bear.

The researchers point out that this trial has accumulated valuable experience for the study of transplantation of heterosexual organs.

In recent years, American medical teams have also tried to transplant gene-edited pig hearts, lungs and livers into human bodies, but the survival time of these organs in human bodies has not exceeded several months. Researchers hope that xenotransplantation technology is expected to alleviate the shortage of transplanted organs in the future.

The organ structure and physiological function of pigs are close to human organs and are considered ideal donor candidates for transplants, but there are still many risks and technical difficulties.