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Organ shortage is the greatest challenge facing the transplant field today. Consequently, only a small number of patients with end stage heart disease is given the opportunity of a transplant and many die while waiting for a new organ. A potential solution to this critical shortage is xenotransplantation, which means transplantation between species.
Groundbreaking research, utilizing XVIVOs heart preservation technology, has in recent years achieved long-term survival after xenotransplants of hearts from gene-modified pigs to primates. Based on this extensive research the first ever transplantation of a heart from a genetically modified pig to a human has now taken place.
The patient did not qualify to receive a conventional human organ transplant, and due to his terminal heart disease, xenotransplant was the only available option for his survival. He is still doing well three days after the historic surgery.
XVIVO has developed a novel method for storing and transporting donated hearts in an optimized way, through non-ischemic heart preservation (NIHP) in collaboration with Professor
The new heart preservation technology is intended for clinical human to human transplants, but it has also been demonstrated to be pivotal for long term survival in pre-clinical research using pig hearts for xenotransplantation by mitigating the risk of early organ dysfunction.
“In a future where xenotransplants can help solve the donor organ shortage we are truly living our vision that nobody should die waiting for a new organ. We have always been in the forefront of organ technology and innovation. Therefore, it is nothing more than a true honor to be part of this first ever successful cardiac pig to human xenotransplant that could bring additional hope for patients on the waiting list. To me, this is the ultimate proof that collaboration between scientists, clinicians and the industry is making the world a better place”, says
Please follow the link to the press release from the
https://www.umms.org/ummc/news/2022/first-successful-transplant-of-porcine-heart-into-adult-human-heart-disease
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