Pig Heart Implanted In Baboon Continued To Beat For Over Two Years
- 8 years ago
A team of scientists for the National Institutes Of Health kept a pig heart that had been implanted in a baboon beating for 945 days.
Researchers say they have made major strides towards someday making animal organs viable for transplant into humans.
A team of scientists for the National Institutes Of Health kept a pig heart that had been implanted in a baboon beating for 945 days.
The feat involved both genetic manipulation and a significant amount of anti-rejection drugs.
Pig donors were created specifically for experimentation and engineered to provide elevated immune response tolerance.
Their hearts did not replace those of the test baboons, but rather were patched into their circulatory systems.
For the bulk of the trial, the monkeys were given a potent cocktail of drugs to stave off organ rejections.
Researchers say they have made major strides towards someday making animal organs viable for transplant into humans.
A team of scientists for the National Institutes Of Health kept a pig heart that had been implanted in a baboon beating for 945 days.
The feat involved both genetic manipulation and a significant amount of anti-rejection drugs.
Pig donors were created specifically for experimentation and engineered to provide elevated immune response tolerance.
Their hearts did not replace those of the test baboons, but rather were patched into their circulatory systems.
For the bulk of the trial, the monkeys were given a potent cocktail of drugs to stave off organ rejections.