A macaque that received a genetically engineered pig kidney survived for more than two years, researchers said — a key milestone in the endeavor to use transplanted animal organs in humans., the researchers used gene-editing in miniature pigs to ensure that their organs, once harvested, wouldn't harbor dormant viruses or be attacked by the primate recipients after transplantation.
Though this latest research is limited to non-humans, the post-op lifespan of the monkeys is especially promising. In the researcher's experiments, the 21 monkeys transplanted with kidneys that were not edited to contain human genes lasted only an average of 24 days, and no longer than 50. With the kidneys that did contain human genes, however, the monkeys survived an average of 176 days. Five of those 15 lived for more than a year, and one of them a healthy two years.