Xenotransplant is a technology that has been worked on for the past decade to solve the issue of organ donor shortage. Scientists quickly discovered that pig organs were the best analog in place of human organs because they were the same size and pigs reproduce quickly. Two weeks ago, Richard Slayman of Massachusetts became the first living human to receive a pig kidney.
He has end-stage kidney disease and is having trouble getting a replacement organ because of his age. Doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital made him the first living human to receive a pig kidney that has been genetically edited to make it suitable for human use. After more than a week, the organ was found to function normally with no signs of rejection.
Previously, two pig kidney transplants into human bodies were performed but the recipient had already experienced brain death. After two weeks the organs are removed again and they die.
It is still too early to say this transplant was successful because almost two years ago, the first pig heart recipient died four months after surgery. Swine virus infection is believed to be the cause of death.
Scientists believe that pig lungs, skin and liver can also be transplanted into the human body in the future. In addition to using pigs, 3D printing technology and producing replacement organs with stem cells have also been studied for those who feel that pigs are sensitive animals according to religious law.