Commentary on achievement of first life‐saving xenoheart transplant
Martine Rothblatt
Abstract
Two months of post-transplant survival were achieved in an end-stage heart disease patient with a porcine heart from a pig whose genome had been modified in 10 of its genes. This first-ever life-saving cardiac xenotransplantation was the result of decades of work and close coordination by researchers in genetic engineering, animal cloning, immunology, ex vivo organ perfusion, and thoracic surgery.
Topics & Concepts
XenotransplantationEx vivoHeart transplantsMedicineHeart transplantationCloning (programming)TransplantationCardiologyIntensive care medicineIn vivoSurgeryBiologyGeneticsComputer scienceProgramming languageXenotransplantation and immune responseOrgan Transplantation Techniques and OutcomesTissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine