Say goodbye to dialysis treatment. It is the big dream of people suffering from kidney failure. But there aren’t kidneys for all the transplants needed, and now there’s at least a new alternative. The pig. “For the sick it is certainly a path of hope, none of the characteristics of the animals will be transmitted and I believe that it will not be a problem,” explains Rafael Matesanz, the founder and founder of the ONT (National Organization for Transplantation). from Spain).
“We can say that animals can help us solve an important health problem. But in the future we will probably have different therapeutic options, and xenotransplantation will be another one.”adds Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, director of the ONT (Spanish National Transplantation Organization).
A major scientific advance that could extend the life expectancy of the more than 2 million people in the world waiting for a human kidney transplant. There have been two previous attempts at a heart transplant, also in a pig, but both patients died. Currently it is in the experimental phase and although it is doing well, it is still too early to determine its future. “This patient appears to be doing well, but it has already been 5 days. So the problem is: Will you achieve the survival achieved with a standard transplant from a deceased person?“, specifies Rafael Matesanz, the founder and founder of the ONT (Spanish National Transplantation Organization).
The average functional expectancy of a transplanted kidney from a deceased person is between 8 and 9 years. Now we have to do it Wait and see how long this new transplant lasts and whether it can become a lifesaver for thousands of people.