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Are genetically modified pig organs the future of transplants?

Leading surgeon David Cooper talks about the dawn of a new era of transplantation in which organs for human transplants come from genetically modified animals

By Michael Le Page

8 February 2022

Few people know more about transplanting animal organs into humans than David Cooper. “I think this is the beginning of a complete revolution in transplantation,” he says.

Cooper, a surgeon and researcher at Harvard Medical School, is referring to the creation of pigs genetically modified to make their organs more suitable for xenotransplantation – the use of organs from other animals in humans. A series of such transplants has made recent headlines. Late in 2021, two teams transplanted pig kidneys into people who were brain-dead in experiments lasting just a few days.…

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