The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a clinical trial to test whether genetically modified pig kidneys can be safely transplanted into people that need a kidney transplant.
The trial, which is a world first, will begin later this year. Six people with end-stage kidney disease, who are not eligible for conventional kidney transplantation for medical reasons or are not likely to get one in the next five years, will be eligible to join the trial.
Dr Jay Fisherman, director of the transplant infectious diseases and compromised host programme at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said: 'The humans who have received xenotransplants have made a tremendous contribution to our field... But formal clinical trials are standardised, and can therefore produce important information, including crucial safety and efficacy data, to move the field forwards'.
Further to this, Towana Looney, the third person to receive a kidney from a genetically modified pig (see BioNews 1271) is now in recovery and feeling well two months post-transplant. Kidney Care UK has more.