NEW DELHI: Pig hearts might soon begin to beat inside humans as scientists in England have taken the first steps to prevent pig hearts from being rejected by the human body,
Researchers at Cambridge have successfully transferred human genes into pig organs so that they will not be rejected if transplanted into human patients with irreversible disease who require transplants.
The transgenic pigs were created by injecting pig embryos with genes for proteins that appear on the surface of human organs. These proteins act as flags that tell the immune system not to attack the organ. This development could lead to a tenfold increase in heart transplants, the British science journal, Spectrum, said quoting a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Pap worth hospital in Cambridge. Dr.David White, a lecturer in immunology at Cambridge University, whose work led to the development of these transgenic pigs, has cofounded a company called.
Imutran, to further develop the research, the journal said. Without the proteins to prevent attack by the immune system, pig ‘organs implanted into the human body would go black and get destroyed within minutes of being transplanted into the human’ body.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 11, 1994
