Hey fam! Big news: Researchers from the Chinese mainland just hit a jaw-dropping milestone: they successfully transplanted a gene-edited pig lung into a human body for the first time ever! 🚀
Published in Nature Medicine, the study led by Professor He Jianxing at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University involved transplanting the left lung of a gene-edited Bama miniature pig into a brain-dead donor. This simulates a standard single-lung transplant and lasted nine days without any signs of super-fast rejection or pesky infections. 🐷➡️🫁
But what's the science tea? The pig got six genetic tweaks to dodge the recipient's immune system – think of it like installing the ultimate antivirus to prevent immune attacks. Post-op, the lung kept pumping O2 like a champ, showing that xenotransplantation (using animal organs in humans) might really help crush the organ shortage crisis. 💉🔬
Beyond the headline-making transplant, the team is cooking up next-gen tweaks: better anti-rejection meds and a slick tubeless ventilation tech. Instead of relying on bulky breathing tubes, this new setup could lower lung damage and improve outcomes in future trials. Talk about leveling up! 💪
Xenotransplantation has been a roller coaster – kidneys, hearts, livers have all had their moments, but lungs are extra tricky. They're super delicate, handle massive blood flow, and chill right at the interface with the outside world. Overcoming that? Massive flex. 🌍✨
While ethics and regulations ran through every phase – approvals, family consent, and national laws – the real MVP move is imagining a future where waiting lists shrink and lives get a second shot. Already last year, the team made headlines with a pig liver transplant, and now they're pushing the lungs frontier. The medtech revolution is real, fam! 🔥
Stay tuned as this tech evolves – who knows, we might soon see a teeny pig lung power-up saving lives across Asia and beyond! 🌏❤️
Reference(s):
World's first gene-edited pig lung transplanted into human body
cgtn.com
