U.S. researchers plan to study whether livers from a gene-edited pig could treat people with sudden liver failure — by temporarily filtering their blood so their own organ can rest and maybe heal.
In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, pig producer eGenesis announced this next step with its partner OrganOx.
Estimates say 35,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized each year when their liver suddenly fails. There are few treatment options and death rates as high as 50%. Many don’t qualify for a liver transplant or can’t find a match in time.
The new study, which is expected to get underway later this spring, is a twist on the quest for animal-to-human organ transplants, The Associated Press (AP) reports. Researchers won’t transplant the pig liver but instead will attach it externally to study participants.
“The liver is the only organ that can regenerate, but the question is whether having the pig’s liver filter the patient’s blood for several days could give it that chance,” AP writes.
In experiments with four deceased bodies, that “bridge” attempt showed the pig liver could support some functions of a human liver for two or three days, Mike Curtis, CEO of Massachusetts-based eGenesis, which genetically modifies pigs so their organs are more humanlike, says in the article.
The trial plans to enroll up to 20 patients in intensive-care units who don’t qualify a liver transplant, AP notes. A device made by Britain’s OrganOx, currently used to preserve donated human livers, will pump participants’ blood through the pig liver.
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