Science Japanese startup breeds pigs for organ engineering

[thomas]

Pig bio-cradles? Am I the only one who thinks this is creepy? Sentient beings and all that?

PorMedTec, a Japanese startup, has achieved a significant milestone by successfully delivering genetically engineered piglets with organs suitable for human transplantation. These piglets were born from a mother that received implanted eggs, marking a crucial step toward implementing interspecies organ transplants in Japan. Hiroshi Nagashima, the representative director at PorMedTec and a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, expressed optimism about the potential impact of this breakthrough on patients in need of organ transplants.

Photo credit: PorMedTec​

PorMedTec received edited pig cells from U.S. biomedical company eGenesis in September. The Japanese startup then inserted the cell nuclei into egg cells, later implanted into the uterus, leading to the birth of cloned pigs. A genetically engineered donor organ from a pig is designed not to be rejected by the body's immune system. A pig kidney developed by eGenesis kept a monkey alive for two years after the transplant. [...] The company's first target for clinical application is kidneys, with a serious shortage of donors. About 350,000 people in Japan undergo dialysis due to kidney failure, which requires visiting the hospital several times a week for several hours of treatment, putting a great strain on the body. Domestic medical costs for dialysis reach 1.6 trillion yen ($10.7 billion) annually, about 4% of all medical costs in the country.

Paywall alert:

Japanese startup creates pigs engineered for organ donation

PorMedTec plans interspecies kidney transplants on humans from 2025

asia.nikkei.com

 

[johnnyG]

Not really an organ, but the aortic valve the surgeons installed in me several years ago was probably from a pig. (Sorry for not having a larger version, this is what they gave to me at my request.)