Attempts to transplant animal organs began well before those between humans, with trials mainly on primates and then pigs. Hyperacute rejection in xenotransplantation, where the immune system reacts violently in a very short time, was one of the main obstacles to the viability of this technique, until the advent of CRISPR-Cas9.
Animal organs to save lives: the promise of xenotransplantation
In 2021, a pig kidney functioned for 54 hours in a brain-dead patient, then 32 days in 2023 and finally in March this year in a living patient. How were the problems of hyperacute rejection resolved? What technical challenges remain to be overcome and what ethical questions are raised by xenotransplantation? Answers with Thierry Hauetuniversity professor and hospital practitioner at the University Hospital and the University of Poitiers and full member of the Academy of Medicine.
All week, Avec sciences offers special programming around “new therapies”, a scientific exploration of the medicine of tomorrow.
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