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CNN —A 62-year-old man has died months after becoming the world’s first living recipient of a genetically edited pig kidney transplant, hailed as a medical milestone. Rick Slayman received the kidney at Massachusetts General in March after he had been diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease last year. “Our family is deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick but take great comfort knowing he inspired so many,” a family statement said. Before Slayman’s transplant, just two transplants using pig organs had been completed – both heart transplants performed under compassionate use. EGenesis, the biotech company providing the genetically edited pig kidney, called Slayman “a true pioneer” in a statement late Saturday night.

Persons: Rick Slayman, Mr, Slayman, Slayman’s, ”, “, Rick, –, ” Slayman, Tatsuo Kawai Organizations: CNN, Massachusetts General, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Legorreta, Procurement, Transplantation Network, Massachusetts Locations: Massachusetts, ” Massachusetts

☆ More people need transplants than there are organ donors. Pigs might offer a solution
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

The need for more transplant organs is immense and growing. Researchers have transplanted genetically modified pig kidneys and hearts into people who were brain-dead to test whether they work in humans. Although Larry Faucette was too sick for a human heart transplant, University of Maryland doctors said he seemed physically strong enough for a genetically modified pig heart. It was more than a decade after the first heart transplant but long before such procedures became relatively routine. “We learned that the pig heart is an adequate substitute for a human heart.

Persons: Lawrence Faucette, Ann, he’d, ” Ann, Larry Faucette, Ann Faucette Ann, Larry, didn’t, ”, Robert Montgomery, “, Shelby Lum, ” Montgomery, Xenotransplantation, Art Caplan, Caplan, Babe ”, ” Caplan, They’re, eGenesis, people’s, Dr, Mike Curtis, Sanjay Gupta, ” Curtis, hasn’t, Julie O’Hara, Jim Parsons, Jayme Locke, couldn’t, Locke, Parsons, NYU —, Montgomery —, O’Hara, ” Locke, David Bennett Sr, Mary, David Jr, Bartley Griffith, Bennett, they’ve, Muhammad M, Mohiuddin, Larry Faucette’s, David Bennett’s, ” Griffith, xenotransplantation Ann Faucette, Wilbur, White’s, Ann Faucette, NYU ethicist Caplan, they’re, NYU’s Montgomery, UAB’s Locke, Steve Wood, ’ Curtis, “ I’m, it’s, ” O’Hara, Bennett’s, Larry Faucette —, ” Bennett’s, Faucette, who’d, Griffith, would’ve, Kate, Lucy, Nadia Kounang Organizations: CNN, Food and Drug Administration, University of Maryland, FDA, National Institute of Allergy, NYU Langone Transplant Institute, NYU Langone's Transplant, NYU Grossman School, Medicine’s Department of Population Health, “ Disney, University of Alabama, Transplant Institute, Parsons Family, Birmingham, NYU, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Doctors, University of Maryland Medical Center, Uno, UAB, CNN Health, NFL Locations: Frederick , Maryland, United States, Montgomery, “, Midwest, Yucatan, Maryland

☆ Drug study brings animal-to-human organ transplants a step closer, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists say they are closer to understanding the best way to make the human body receptive to an organ donation from another species, an effort that could help solve an ongoing shortage of organs. More than 100,000 people in the US are on the transplant waiting list, and an average of 17 die every day while waiting. Doctors have spent decades experimenting with alternatives, and many now see potential in replacing failing human organs with genetically modified pig organs. Xenotransplantation, as cross-species organ transplantation is called, is still in the early stages. There are no human clinical trials taking place that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, but the researchers behind a study published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Investigation say their findings might bring human trials even closer.

Persons: Jayme Locke, Locke, that’s, Sheri Krams, ”, Krams, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Mandy Ford, Ford, ” Ford Organizations: CNN —, US Food and Drug Administration, Investigation, University of Alabama, Heersink, of Medicine, FDA, Transplantation, Heersink School of Medicine, Stanford Medicine, UAB, Parsons Model, CNN, CNN Health, Emory Transplant Center Locations: United States

Surgeons externally attached a pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood, a step toward eventually trying the technique in patients with liver failure. Now scientists are trying again with pigs whose organs have been genetically modified to be more humanlike. In recent years, kidneys from genetically modified pigs have been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors to see how well they function, and two men received heart transplants from pigs although both died within months. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSome researchers also are looking to use pig livers. In a statement, the Penn team reported that the donor’s body remained stable and the pig liver showed no signs of damage.

Persons: Penn, eGenesis —, Parsia, wasn't, “, ” Vagefi Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Machines, Penn, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S

☆ Second person to receive experimental pig heart transplant dies nearly six weeks after procedure
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Nadia Kounang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Lawrence Faucette, the second living person to receive a genetically modified pig heart in a transplant, has died six weeks after the experimental procedure. Griffith had performed the experimental surgery. Faucette, 58, was first admitted to UMMC on September 14 after experiencing symptoms of heart failure and underwent the experimental transplant six days later. His heart disease and pre-existing conditions made him ineligible for a traditional human heart transplant. In January 2022, the University of Maryland also performed the first such experimental surgery on 57-year-old David Bennett, who died two months following the surgery.

Persons: CNN — Lawrence Faucette, “ Mr, Faucette’s, Dr, Bartley Griffith, Griffith, UMMC, “, ” Faucette, ”, Ann Faucette, “ We’ve, ” Griffith, Doctors, Ann, “ Larry, Sanjay Gupta, David Bennett, Bennett Organizations: CNN, University of Maryland Medical Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, CNN Health, University of Maryland Locations: UMMC

Lawrence Faucette was dying from heart failure and ineligible for a traditional heart transplant when doctors at the University of Maryland School of Medicine offered the highly experimental surgery. In the first glimpse of Faucette provided since the Sept. 20 transplant, hospital video shows physical therapist Chris Wells urging him to push through a pedaling exercise to regain his strength. The Maryland team last year performed the world’s first transplant of a heart from a genetically altered pig into another dying man. David Bennett survived just two months before that heart failed, for reasons that aren’t completely clear although signs of a pig virus later were found inside the organ. In Friday’s hospital video, Faucette’s doctors said the pig heart has shown no sign of rejection.

Persons: — It’s, he’s, Lawrence Faucette, Faucette, Chris Wells, “ That’s, ” Faucette, David Bennett, —, ”, Muhammad Mohiuddin Organizations: WASHINGTON, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland, Food and Drug Administration, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Maryland

☆ Doctor's transplanted a genetically-engineered pig heart into a human, again, and now the saved patient has reached a major milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Lauran Neergaard | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The pig heart transplant patient lived to celebrate the one-month anniversary of his surgery. The first pig heart transplant patient died two months after surgery due to heart failure. The first pig heart transplant patient, David Bennett, died two months after surgery. In Friday's hospital video, Faucette's doctors said the pig heart has shown no sign of rejection. Tom Jemski/University of Maryland School of Medicine via APMany scientists hope xenotransplants one day could compensate for the huge shortage of human organ donations.

Persons: —, — It's, he's, Lawrence Faucette, Faucette, Chris Wells, David Bennett, Mark Teske, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Lawrence Faucette's, Tom Jemski Organizations: Service, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Maryland, AP, Food and Drug Administration, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science, Educational Media Group Locations: WASHINGTON, Maryland

Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday. “You know, I just keep shaking my head – how am I talking to someone who has a pig heart?” Dr. Bartley Griffith, who performed the transplant, told The Associated Press. “It’s just an amazing feeling to see this pig heart work in a human,” said Dr. Muhammad Mohiuddin, the Maryland team’s xenotransplantation expert. That FDA allowed this second case “suggests that the agency is not ready to permit a pig heart clinical trial to start,” Mashke added. The pig heart, provided by Blacksburg, Virginia-based Revivicor, has 10 genetic modifications – knocking out some pig genes and adding some human ones to make it more acceptable to the human immune system.

Persons: –, “, ” Lawrence Faucette, Dr, Bartley Griffith, David Bennett, Ann Faucette, ”, Faucette, “ It’s, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Karen Maschke, ” Mashke Organizations: WASHINGTON, — Surgeons, Navy, University of Maryland Medicine, Associated Press, Maryland, Food and Drug Administration, FDA, National Institutes of Health, Maryland team’s, Hastings Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education, AP Locations: Maryland, Frederick , Maryland, U.S, Blacksburg , Virginia

It marked the longest a genetically modified pig kidney has ever functioned inside a human, albeit a deceased one. “Two months is a lot to have a pig kidney in this good a condition. Political Cartoons View All 1160 ImagesSo-called xenotransplantation attempts have failed for decades — the human immune system immediately destroyed foreign animal tissue. Montgomery gambled that maintaining Miller's body on a ventilator for two months to see how the pig kidney worked could answer some of those questions. She recently got a card from a stranger in California who's awaiting a kidney transplant, thanking her for helping to move forward desperately needed research.

Persons: gurney, Maurice “ Mo ” Miller, “, Dr, Robert Montgomery, Montgomery, ”, Mary Miller, Duffy, Miller, ” Miller, Sue Duffy, Montgomery’s, immunologist Massimo Mangiola, Jeffrey Stern, Karen Maschke, Mangiola Organizations: NYU Langone, Food and Drug Administration, Associated Press, University of Maryland, FDA, NYU, Hastings Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Newburgh , New York, California

☆ Scientists take ‘pioneering steps’ toward growing human kidneys in pigs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Scientists have grown kidneys containing mostly human cells inside pig embryos, an important step toward growing kidneys and potentially other human organs that could be used for transplants in people. “The paper describes pioneering steps in a new approach to organ bioengineering using pigs as incubators for growing and cultivating human organs,” said Dusko Ilic, a professor of stem cell sciences at King’s College London, in a statement. “It is remarkable to see about 60% of the primordial pig kidney contained human cells,” Wu said. What the researchers didTo generate kidneys mostly composed of human cells in pigs, the scientists used cutting-edge techniques harnessing advances in stem cells, gene editing and embryology. “This (new) work is different from existing xenotransplantation approach and aims to generate organs mostly composed of human cells in pigs,” Wu said.

Persons: ”, Miguel Esteban, ” Esteban, “, Dusko Ilic, Jun Wu, Wu, ” Mary Garry, ” Wu, Esteban, ” Joseph A, Vassalotti, ” Vassalotti Organizations: CNN —, Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Procurement, Transplantation Network, King’s College London, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, University of Minnesota’s, Heart Institute, National Kidney Foundation, Icahn School of Medicine Locations: Health, United States, Mount Sinai

☆ Surgeons Improve Function of Kidneys Transplanted From Genetically Altered Pigs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Roni Caryn Rabin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

A number of studies last year demonstrated that pig kidneys that had been transplanted into brain-dead individuals made urine, an essential function, for short periods of time. “The really new finding here is that these pig kidneys can clear enough creatinine to support an adult human,” Dr. Locke said. “If you want to have life-sustaining kidney function, the kidneys have to do more than just make urine,” Dr. Locke said. A few months later, researchers at the University of Maryland transplanted a heart from a genetically modified pig into a 57-year-old patient with heart failure. So far, transplants of genetically modified pig kidneys have been made only to brain-dead patients.

Persons: ”, Jayme Locke, Dr, Locke Organizations: Transplant Institute, NYU Langone Health, University of Maryland, Revivicor, United Therapeutics Corporation, Langone Health, Food and Drug Administration Locations: Alabama, New York

☆ Two research teams detail advancements in transplanting pig kidneys to humans, marking key steps on path to clinical trials
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —New advancements in transplanting pig kidneys to humans, detailed by two separate research teams on Wednesday, mark key steps forward in the evolving field of xenotransplantation, the use of non-human tissues or organs to treat medical conditions in humans. Both research teams used genetically modified pig kidneys that were transplanted into recipients experiencing brain death in what is considered pre-clinical human research. Other studies have demonstrated that this can occur when pig kidneys are transplanted in non-human primates. The team has been monitoring pig kidney transplants in a brain-dead decedent – a man named Maurice Miller, known as Mo, who died of a brain tumor – for nearly two months. “Over the last 20 years, we’ve gained a lot of information about how pig kidneys work to replace the functions in primates.

Persons: ”, Jayme Locke, Locke, ” Locke, NYU Langone, Maurice Miller, Mo, Robert Montgomery, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “ We’re, Adam Griesemer, we’ve, ’ –, we’re Organizations: CNN, University of Alabama, Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, New York University, Health, Comprehensive Transplant Institute, ”, UAB, NYU, NYU Langone Transplant Institute, CNN Health, Liver Transplant, FDA, US Department of Health, Human, Transplantation Network

☆ How the founder of SiriusXM wants to tackle an organ shortage with 3D-printed hearts and lungs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

She is the CEO of the $12 billion biotech United Therapeutics and founder of SiriusXM. Her company, the $12 billion Maryland-based biotech United Therapeutics, has already put gene-edited pig hearts, lungs, and kidneys into humans in clinical studies. Rothblatt previously founded SiriusXM before starting United TherapeuticsUnited TherapeuticsThe organ research is far from the first moonshot in Rothblatt's career. After that compound's owner, the pharma giant GSK, declined to test it against PAH, Rothblatt founded United Therapeutics in 1996 and bought the rights to the molecule. That drug helped save Jenesis, and United Therapeutics now sells a suite of PAH treatments that have helped over 12,000 patients.

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