NEW YORK (AP) — In a groundbreaking experiment, doctors and nurses at NYU Langone Health honored Maurice “Mo” Miller as they silently lined the hospital hallway. For two months, a pig’s kidney functioned inside Miller’s brain-dead body. The genetically modified pig kidney proved to be the longest-lasting in a human body, albeit a deceased one. Now, the researchers are eager to share their findings with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to pursue further testing on live patients.
Dr. Robert Montgomery, the transplant surgeon who led the experiment, expressed both excitement and relief at the successful two-month trial. Montgomery, who himself received a heart transplant, believes that animal-to-human transplants can help alleviate the organ shortage crisis in the United States. With over 100,000 people on the waiting list, most of whom need a kidney, thousands die waiting for a suitable donor.
Previous xenotransplantation attempts failed due to the immediate rejection of animal tissue by the human immune system. However, genetically modifying pigs to have more human-like organs offers a potential solution. Short experiments on deceased bodies showed promise in evading immediate immune attacks, but the researchers still need to address the more common rejection that takes a month to develop.
Last year, University of Maryland surgeons attempted to save a dying man with a pig heart, but the organ failed after only two months for reasons that remain unclear. Consequently, the FDA requested more information about how pig organs function compared to human organs.
Montgomery took the risk of maintaining Miller’s body on a ventilator for two months to observe the performance of the pig kidney. This experiment aimed to answer some of the FDA’s questions. At the end of the two months, the kidney was removed from Miller’s body and returned to his family for cremation.
Miller’s sister, Mary Miller-Duffy, tearfully bid farewell to her brother, acknowledging the weight of her decision to donate his body for the pig experiment. Recently, she received a card from a stranger in California, a kidney transplant candidate, expressing gratitude for her contribution to vital research.
In July, surgeons replaced Miller’s own kidneys with a pig kidney and the animal’s thymus, a gland that trains immune cells. Initially, the kidney functioned well, but doctors noticed a slight decrease in urine production, signaling the onset of rejection. By adjusting the patient’s immune-suppressing medications, the kidney’s performance recovered, demonstrating that the rejection could be treated effectively.
Throughout the experiment, researchers addressed various FDA inquiries. They found no differences in the pig kidney’s reactions to human hormones, excretion of antibiotics, or medicine-related side effects. Dr. Jeffrey Stern, who examined the pig kidney after removal, remarked that it looked as healthy as a normal kidney.
The next step involves analyzing nearly 180 different tissue samples from various organs and body parts to search for any problems that may arise from xenotransplantation. Although experiments on deceased bodies cannot fully predict organ performance in living patients, they provide valuable insights. Karen Maschke, a research scholar at the Hastings Center, emphasizes the significance of these experiments in differentiating between pigs with multiple genetic changes and those with a single change that only triggers an immediate immune response.
The researchers remain committed to their mission because countless people die without a second chance at life. They hope that xenotransplants will ultimately revolutionize the field of organ transplants and save more lives.
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