Research Highlights

An experimental pig heart transplant saves a man’s life

A human life was saved with a pig heart transplant. Is xenotransplantation the solution to ending the shortage of organs?

Koen De Lombaert

Feb 2, 2022 • 3 min read

Is xenotransplantation the solution to ending the shortage of organs?

It was only a few short weeks ago when an American man became the first human to receive a heart transplant with a pig’s heart and survive. The transplant was performed on a man from Baltimore at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The man receiving the transplant was 57 years old, and he was informed by doctors that he had a terminal heart condition. He was also ineligible for a regular heart transplant with a human heart that could potentially give him at least 10-12 years of life and he would not be able to use an artificial heart pump. With nothing to lose, the man agreed to the experimental heart transplant using a pig’s heart. Miraculously, he survived the transplant, and so far, has been recovering as though he had had a normal transplant. Nevertheless, the doctors who performed the pig heart transplant do not have any data about long-term side effects nor about how long the man could live with the pig’s heart. As he is the first human to live with an animal’s heart, the doctors are currently monitoring him and his recovery progress. Now that it has been several weeks since the heart transplant and the patient seems to be doing well in his recovery, medical communities around the world are becoming excited about the idea of potentially saving thousands of lives with animal organs. While it is said that there are similarities between humans and pigs, the pig used for the heart transplant was genetically modified. Four pig genes were removed from the pig to ensure that the organ would not expand beyond a human-sized heart. In addition, six human genes were injected into the pig, as well. Since there had not been enough time to gather data about the procedure and performing the transplant needed to occur as soon as possible in order to save the patient, the FDA had to quickly approve the pig heart transplant, which they did on December 31, 2021. Although the procedure was done successfully, there are still many questions surrounding xenotransplantation, especially regarding ethical applications.

Xenotransplantation is not a new concept; it can be traced back to cross-species blood transfusions in the 17^thcentury, and it even appears in Greek mythology. However, previous xenotransplantation procedures proved to be unsuccessful. Though doctors are unsure about how the pig’s heart could potentially affect the patient, they are still hopeful and have even begun to consider what a future with more pig organ transplants could look like. Ideally, xenotransplantation seems like a very viable solution to help end the shortage of organs needed for transplantations. There are too many patients on waitlists for transplants, and many of them die before they are able to receive the organ that they need. There are currently not enough human organs for all of the patients who need transplants. With xenotransplantation, hundreds of thousands of lives can be saved! Also, if we already farm pigs as a source of food, why shouldn’t we do it for organs too?

Before we get too excited, there are other questions that need to be answered, as well. First, we should consider what kinds of resources would be required to enable this type of pig farming. How much would it cost to harvest the pigs in the right environment and with the genetic modifications that they need? Is it even ethical to breed and isolate pigs for the sole purpose of killing them for their organs? Then, even if we decide that we do want to harvest pig organs, is it ethical to genetically modify the pigs? Do we even care about ethics if the pig organs are going to save so many lives? It’s easy to understand arguments on both sides. Theoretically, there is so much potential for transplantation medicine. In addition to xenotransplantation, we should continue to encourage people to become organ donors, as well as fund 3D bioprinting research to artificially grow organs in labs. Nonetheless, xenotransplantation is progressing fast and this operation is a huge milestone in its development. It has the potential to help end the shortage of organs once and for all, thus, saving more lives.

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