A team of Doctors at the New York University (NYU) Langone Health, an academic medical centre, has successfully transplanted two genetically engineered pig hearts into recently deceased people.
The doctors announced on Wednesday that the surgeries — xenotransplants — were performed on June 16 and July 6 at NYU Langone.
The hearts were obtained from pigs having 10 genetic modifications, including four porcine gene knockouts to prevent rejection and abnormal organ growth.
The organs also carry six human transgenes (knock-ins) to promote the expression of proteins that regulate essential biological pathways that can be disrupted by incompatibilities between pigs and humans.
The pig hearts were transplanted into human donors who were recently deceased and kept on ventilator support.
The doctors said so far there have observed no signs of early rejection in both organs and the hearts functioned normally with standard post-transplant medications and without additional mechanical support.
The doctors are convinced that the latest advances in xenotransplantation have moved the field closer to having a new supply of organs for people with serious diseases.
