For the first time, world’s first landmark surgery a pig’s Genetically Modified kidney transplant has been done in the human body, creating a history in medical science. In March, doctors successfully implanted a pig’s kidney in the human body at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States.
It is worth mentioning that the first kidney transplant was done in this hospital in 1954. Richard Slayman, 62, was suffering from kidney disease. Sleman had been undergoing kidney treatment at the same hospital for the past 11 years.
The patient underwent a human kidney transplant in 2018. But after five years complications in transplanted kidneys increased. The patient had to start Dialysis since 2023. The patient then agreed to take the pig’s kidney on the advice of the doctor.
Dr. Tatsuo Kawai successfully performed the surgery by a team of 15 doctors. After the surgery, the surgeon addresses the pig’s kidney and says – he has never seen such a beautiful kidney before.
The pig’s kidney starts working as soon as it is transplanted into the patient’s body and connected to the blood vessel. The doctor also said that the kidney of the pig was completely equal to the human kidney.
Lack of human organs is a major problem in the United States. In the United States, 17 people die every day due to organ shortages. In 2023, 27,000 patients underwent a kidney transplant in the US. In contrast, 89,000 people are waiting.
This problem can be solved with successful Xenotransplants. This is the third attempt to transplant pig parts in the human body. Prior to this, a pig kidney was implanted on the body of a brain dead patient.
It may be recalled that on January 1, 1997, Dr. Dhaniram Barua of Assam had implanted the heart, kidney and lungs of pigs in the body of a Multiple Organ Failed patient. He was jailed for doing so illegally.