German scientists plan to clone and breed genetically modified pigs to serve as donor hearts for humans.
The modification is based on a simplified version of a modified US pig that was last month used in the world's first pig-to-human transplant.
Eckhard Wolf, a scientist at Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich, Germany, said his team aims to have a new, livestock-modified species native to Auckland Island, ready for use as a transplant experiment by 2025.
In the world's first pig-to-human heart transplant surgery last month, a team at the University of Maryland Medicine transplanted the heart from a pig with 10 modifications into a terminally ill man.
Doctors who performed the procedure said the patient was responding well although the risk of infection, organ rejection or high blood pressure remained.
"Our concept is to continue with a simpler model, namely with five genetic modifications," Wolf said as quoted by The Guardian.
Wolf, who has researched xenotransplantation or animal-to-human transplantation for 20 years, said his team used still inefficient cloning technology to produce only "founding animals", from genetically identical future generations to breed.
"The first generation of such is slated to be born this year, and their livers will be tested on baboons before the team seeks approval for human clinical trials within two or three years," Wolf said.
Transplant procedures are used for people diagnosed with organ failure who have no other treatment options. According to data from the country's Organ Transplantation Foundation, the waiting list for transplants in Germany totals about 8,500 people by the end of 2021.
Pros and cons
Proponents of Wolf's idea say animal donors can help shorten the list. However, the contra are no less numerous and the technology violates animal rights. They thought this effectively lowered the pigs to organ factory status , and the monkeys used in the transplant experiments had to suffer a painful death.
In February 2019, a petition by German pressure group Doctors Against Animal Experiments to demand a ban on xenotransplant research garnered more than 57,000 signatures. Kristina Berchtold, a spokeswoman for the Munich branch of Germany's Animal Welfare Association, called the practice ethically highly questionable.
"Animals should not be used as 'spare parts' for humans. Pets, which are called farm animals, imitations or animals that are born naturally all have the same needs, fears, and rights," he concluded.