look news india
New Delhi: For the first time in the world, a gene-edited pig kidney has been transplanted into a human being. Doctors of Massachusetts Hospital of America have registered this achievement in their name. On the 16th of this month, doctors transplanted a pig's kidney to a person named Richard Sleeman in Boston. His age is 62 years. This has raised a ray of hope for kidney patients.
Actually, in today's time people's kidneys are deteriorating rapidly. Kidney transplant cannot be done without matching. In such a situation, if human transplant of pig kidney made with the help of gene therapy in the laboratory becomes successful, then it will be a big miracle. In America alone, one million people are standing in line for kidney transplant. For them this news is like a miracle.
Richard was suffering from diabetes for a long time and his kidneys had failed.
After being on dialysis for almost seven years, he underwent a kidney transplant in 2018. However, this kidney failed after five years.
The pig kidney transplanted into Richard was grown at the iGenesis Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Doctors extracted pig genes from it which could harm humans. This increased his capacity. The Egenesis company also inactivated a swine virus that infects humans. Pig kidneys that survive after this type of genetic engineering have very few pig characteristics.
The first genetically engineered kidneys were transplanted into monkeys. The monkey stayed with him for 176 days.
In another case, the monkey lived for two years. In such a situation, these transplants are being considered a boon for kidney patients. If this experiment is successful, it will open a new possibility of dialysis free life for kidney transplant patients.