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Pig kidney works a record 2 months in donated body, raising hope for animal-human transplants

  • Surgeons in the United States report the longest successful pig-to-human kidney transplant
  • The latest experiment is part of a growing field of research aimed at advancing cross-species transplants

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Surgeons remove a gene-edited transplanted pig kidney from the body of Maurice ‘Mo’ Miller. Photo: AP

Dozens of doctors and nurses silently lined the hospital hallway in tribute: for a history-making two months, a pig’s kidney worked normally inside the brain-dead man on the gurney rolling past them.

The dramatic experiment came to an end Wednesday as surgeons at NYU Langone Health removed the pig kidney and returned the donated body of Maurice “Mo” Miller to his family for cremation.

It marked the longest a genetically modified pig kidney has ever functioned inside a human, albeit a deceased one.

And by pushing the boundaries of research with the dead, the scientists learned critical lessons they’re preparing to share with the Food and Drug Administration – in hopes of eventually testing pig kidneys in the living.

Researchers are racing to learn how to use animal organs to save human lives. Photo: AP
Researchers are racing to learn how to use animal organs to save human lives. Photo: AP

“It’s a combination of excitement and relief,” Dr Robert Montgomery, the transplant surgeon who led the experiment, said. “Two months is a lot to have a pig kidney in this good a condition. That gives you a lot of confidence” for next attempts.

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