Name: Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants
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Of the over 100,000 people on the waitlist for an organ in the United States, 17 die every day. Now, the first pig-to-human heart transplant reveals some of the challenges of xenotransplantation.

In a first, a 57-year-old man received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig.

Of the over 100,000 people on the waitlist for an organ in the United States, 17 die every day. Now, the first pig-to-human heart transplant reveals some of the challenges of xenotransplantation.

Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants

In a first, a 57-year-old man received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig.

Body & Brain

Animal-to-Human Organ TransplantsPublished: March 4, 2022Narrator: In the first successful surgery of its kind, a 57-year-old man received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig. It's not the first time researchers have used pigs’ organs. In fact, pig valves have been successfully used in human hearts for many years. In September 2021, surgeons at a different institution successfully attached pig kidneys to a brain-dead patient. Why pigs? David Cooper: For many good reasons, we've selected the pig as the potential source of those organs. Mainly because of the size, the ease of maintaining them inside a clean pig facility, the reproductive capacity. The organs are very similar anatomically and physiologically to humans.Narrator: This kind of animal-to-human surgery, known as xenotransplantation, is the result of decades of research. Even in human-to-human transplants, without proper treatment, the body will reject the new organ. The immune system identifies the transplanted organ as foreign and targets it with killer T-cells and antibodies made by B-cells. Over time, these damage the organ and may cause organ failure. To prevent this, transplant patients take medication that suppresses their immune systems. In the recent case using a pig’s heart, not only did the recipient take a new kind of immunosuppressive medication, but the organ supplier was genetically modified for a better chance of acceptance by the human body. David Cooper: The treatment we use to prevent rejection of human organs is not very effective against preventing rejection of a pig organ. So we're using some new immunosuppressive drugs. This is the first time in transplantation we've had the opportunity to manipulate the donor rather than just suppress the recipient. Narrator: Scientists modified 10 genes: They inactivated four genes, including one that causes a strong rejection response in humans. And added six human genes to the pig’s genome to make its organs more likely to be accepted by the human immune system. Researchers are hoping that modified pig organs could bring relief to people on the waitlist. Today, many never get the chance to have an operation. Of the over 100,000 people in the United States—and counting—17 people die every day waiting for these life-saving surgeries.Juan Carlos Leoni Moreno: Even if we did 40,000 transplants this last year, they're still new patients added to the list every year. There's always an organ shortage so not everybody will be a candidate for transplants. Narrator: So who does get the few available organs? To receive any kind of transplant, animal or human, patients must meet certain criteria.Juan Carlos Leoni Moreno: Every patient will have a similar kind of checklist to make sure that they are good candidates for transplant. Does the patient have caregiver support? Are they complying with medications? Do they show up to their appointments? Can they afford the medications?Narrator: Ideally, everyone would have equal access to these life-saving treatments. But that’s not always the case.Keisha Ray: Who is having access to organs and is the access equitable? Black people, Latinx people, and Indigenous people are less often referred to organ transplantation. They are also less often recipients of organ transplants. And so what we really want to make sure is that we don't limit who has access to this kind of care, this kind of life-altering care.Narrator: But xenotransplantation still has a long way to go before it’s considered “life-altering care.” The recent surgeries were highly experimental a last resort for dying patients. And we don’t know how long the transplanted pig’s heart will continue to function.Keisha Ray: People who are open to xenotransplantation are usually at the end of their life. They usually have been given some diagnosis that is terminal or maybe they are not eligible for a human organ. And so if they are open xenotransplantation, we really have to think about, are we preying on people who are very desperate and who will do anything to survive?Narrator: The next step for xenotransplantation is to study the heart and kidney transplants in the context of clinical trials.Keisha Ray: Xenotransplantation right now still needs to be studied a lot more. We still need a lot more clinical trials. We still need just a lot more information about its success among humans. And so what I want to make sure is that we don't start promoting xenotransplantation without the proper research and giving people hope where maybe it's giving them false hope.

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Animal-to-Human Organ Transplants

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Support Provided By

Explore More

Scientists Use CRISPR to Grow Human Organs Inside of Pigs

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Journey of a Heart Transplant