At the International Xenotransplantation Association’s recent conference, scientists expressed optimism at closing a persistent shortage of donor organs, The New York Times reported Nov. 12.
The organization convened hundreds of scientists in Geneva, Switzerland, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3. During the conference, scientists expressed optimism about nearing breakthroughs not just in xenotransplantation, but the overall field of transplantation across the globe.
More than 100,000 U.S. individuals are on a national transplant waiting list, and 13 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant, according to HHS data. In some countries, cultural beliefs regarding transplantation contribute to a shortage of donated organs, the Times reported. Other factors for the ongoing scarcity are the rise of chronic diseases such as kidney disease, inefficiencies in procurement and a low rate of suitable donor deaths.
Scientists say genetically modified organs, such as gene-edited pig kidneys, are showing increasing promise of reversing this trend. Recipients of pig kidneys have progressively survived and lived with them for months. Although all have returned to dialysis treatment, multiple clinical trials are underway to explore and expand the practice.
Animal-to-human viruses remain a concern with xenotransplantation, according to the Times, but scientists remain hopeful.
“I think we are at a turning point,” David K.C. Cooper, MD, PhD, a physician investigator at the Mass General Research Institute in Boston and a consultant to eGenesis, a gene-editing transplantation company, told the Times.
“We’ve already shown, with the few transplants that have been done, that the pig organs are going to work OK,” Dr. Cooper said, adding that he expects the FDA will allow more people to receive porcine organs. “So we’ll see more and more transplants, and their results will get better and better.”
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