Last year:
Earlier this week, surgeons at New York University’s Langone Transplant Institute successfully performed a pig kidney transplant. This in itself would be unremarkable. What does mark the achievement as unprecedented is the identity of the donor – a genetically modified pig.
Some days post-surgery, the recipient, a brain-dead patient whose family consented to the experimental procedure, has not rejected the kidney and tests show that it is functioning normally. This incredible feat is significant both as a demonstration of scientific control over biological systems and as a beacon of hope to others in line for a transplant.
My late step-dad had a bovine heart valve replacement. Gave us a few more precious years with him. Good man.
How is someone a “good candidate” for a cross species transplant, but not for a human transplant? Just askin.