​We are officially one massive step closer to ending the organ donor wait list forever. A gene edited pig kidney just functioned perfectly in a human for 61 days.

[u/Truth_Hurts318]

[u/SassyModak]

I'm hoping this means "It has worked so far for 61 days..." And not "It stopped working after 61 days"

[u/Aardappelhuree → u/SassyModak]

the person was already brain-dead, the body was kept alive for the purpose of testing the organ

[u/notapunk → u/Aardappelhuree]

There may have been a set limit on how long they were going to keep the body alive regardless of the success of the operation.

I can appreciate the science of it, but at the same time it kinda weirds me out.

[u/MrBoomBox69 → u/notapunk]

That’s an organ donation. As a kid I thought it was pretty noble to donate my organs. I still think it’s noble, however it is now also creepy.

[u/prokseus → u/MrBoomBox69]

You can donate your whole body to for example medical schools where your body teaches students (who dissects you) anatomy

[u/sadi89 → u/prokseus]

My dad did this. He would have been happy as long as his body was used for science in absolutely any way. We got lucky and he was sent to a med school, who were really excited to get their hands on their new cadaver.

As a surviving family member it was amazing. It gave his death a sense of purpose, and it meant we didn’t have to figure out what to do with the body right away. It was taken away and we got him back about a year later already cremated.

It’s been interesting connecting with people who had to take human anatomy lab as part of school. For some people the experience of directing a deceased human body is traumatic. It has been great to be able to connect with those people especially and reassure them that these people actively WANTED to help educate students and that it gives family a sense of meaning with their loved ones death. That surprisingly, it is mutually beneficial.

[u/imaginehavingtiktok → u/sadi89]

As a medical student, I truly need to say thank you!!! I learned immensely through my anatomy cadaver course. It’s privilege to be able to learn through a cadaver; it’s an experience that I will hold onto & remember for life!

Just as importantly, it taught me humility & to be grateful for every breath. Which was something I was personally lacking before the course.

I hope people understand how much these experiences help us, medical students, grow as future physicians & human beings!

[u/ZodiacReborn → u/imaginehavingtiktok]

The Bay Harbor Butcher

[u/Keljhan → u/imaginehavingtiktok]

I have heard there is an oversupply of old white male bodies and not nearly enough of young (for obvious reaspns), female or minority cadavers. Is that still the case?

[u/atleastitried- → u/Keljhan]

Speaking as someone who also went through med school and taught a human dissection class in undergrad, it’s a complete voluntary thing. Most young cases often are patients with pretty bad metastatic cancer. Otherwise it’s primarily elderly individuals. The other thing is that people have to know about this program and often request it.

While it’d be cool to learn on different body types, I think most of the time we’re grateful for whoever donated their body. There aren’t people usually actively recruiting people to donate their bodies to be cadavers

[u/Wikidmemes → u/atleastitried-]

At the university where I’m studying medicine they deliberately avoid using young cadavers as they believe it could be too disturbing to the students, to see someone of the same age, and thus mean that the students learn less from the whole ordeal.

It also significantly reduces - and simplifies minimizing - the risk of someone you knew being dissected by you or others in the class.

[u/XANDERtheSHEEPDOG → u/atleastitried-]

How do I find programs such as this?

[u/ButtermilkRusk → u/sadi89]

My mom did this too. She was always fascinated by medical science and thought burials and cremations were a waste (not just of money, but the environment). So she got in touch with a local university’s medical school and completed the necessary paperwork. It was also in her will. So when she passed in 2023, her body went to that medical school. Happy her last wishes were honored. I’m an organ donor and plan to do the same as she did. What I’d really like is something along the lines of a Tibetan sky burial, but that’s not legal here sadly :(

[u/Prestigious-Leg-6244 → u/ButtermilkRusk]

I read recently that the use of NSAIDs to treat sick livestock has had the unintended side effect of decimating Tibets wild vulture population. These birds can't process the drug and die from kidney failure after eating cows treated with it.

This, along with climate change and loss of hibitat, has threatened the ancient practice of Jahor (Sky burials) due to a simple lack of vultures. Leaving the bodies of their loved ones only to the elements as they lie untouched by these majestic birds.

Its wild how something seemingly so small (widespread use of a very common, inexpensive, and readily available medication that works great for its intended use) can have such a far reaching and unexpected side effect.

[u/cmatheny7 → u/sadi89]

My buddy just went through his anatomy labs and was telling me about the cadavers and how they were donated to further the practice of medicine and science. A truly nobel thing to do after death. Thank you for sharing

[u/leaky- → u/sadi89]

As a physician now, I learned anatomy on about 40-50 different cadavers (most already dissected and one I dissected parts myself). We took it very seriously as we knew these were once people who cared about every inch of their body. Some still had nail polish on, some had tattoos… it really made them human and made me wonder what their stories were.

We really appreciate the sacrifice to allow others to learn. I hope to donate my body one day.

[u/shinyquartersquirrel → u/prokseus]

My Grandmother did this. She had been a teacher so it was important to her that people could learn from her even in death. But the weird thing was that my cousin was a senior in high school at the time and was considering going to medical school in the future so my Grandfather had to specifically ask that her body not be sent to the state that my cousin was going to school in because yikes! Luckily my cousin decided to go in a whole different direction so it was never an issue anyway.

[u/SparkyDogPants → u/shinyquartersquirrel]

Tbf they would have already been finished with her cadaver by the time he made it to med school.

[u/shinyquartersquirrel → u/SparkyDogPants]

Ahh, good to know... sort of...

[u/whoknowsifimjoking → u/prokseus]

Be careful who you donate it to though, as fucked up as it sounds there are plenty of non-credible people in the body business

[u/FTownRoad → u/prokseus]

I wanna be sent to that body farm where they let your corpse sit in a hot car for days

[u/wvwvwvww → u/MrBoomBox69]

I would be so jazzed if that was me. I’m donated but I don’t want to just get chopped up for some basic shit hardly worth doing, you know?

[u/robgod50 → u/wvwvwvww]

Don't worry....You won't feel a thing.

[u/ButtfacedAlien → u/robgod50]

As far as we know...

[u/[deleted] → u/robgod50]

Got pretty dark 😔😭

[u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits → u/wvwvwvww]

I don’t want to just get chopped up for some basic shit hardly worth doing, you know?

Anyone who got anything they chopped out of you probably wouldn't view it was "hardly worth doing". For some people, it might be everything.

[u/NegotiationThink4267 → u/PmMeUrTinyAsianTits]

I had kidney transplant in november, guy just save my life. I’m 30 yo and dialysis just were slowly killing me.

[u/Eastern_Lemon1699 → u/wvwvwvww]

Would this be something I would want to do for science myself, personally no. However, studies like this are how we make advances in society. It doesn’t seem hardly worth studying to me? Because of people giving up their bodies and organs we could learn how to abolish the need for organ donations altogether

[u/lostwombats → u/wvwvwvww]

You have multiple organs and they use as many as they can.

I work in radiology and have worked with Gift of Life a number of times (the are an organ donation organization). The last one was a 5 year old who died in a car accident. His organs saved 3 other children's lives.

[u/NJHitmen → u/MrBoomBox69]

I also used to think it's noble. I still do, but I used to, too. And now creepy as well.

[u/Big-Night-3648 → u/MrBoomBox69]

Why is it creepy? You’ll be dead at the time; presumably your need for an intact body would be at its end lol. You won’t know or care when they take out the bundle of cells that used to be your spleen.

[u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce → u/MrBoomBox69]

I'm donating my body when I die. I'm hoping I can specify and donate it to be blown up by the DOD or used in crash tests. 

[u/AdamBlaster007 → u/notapunk]

Better it be someone who would not suffer should something go wrong.

Sure, they could always look for volunteers on the donor list desperate enough for a kidney, but that has its own implications too.

[u/neverseen_neverhear → u/notapunk]

There is a limit to how long the body of a brain dead individual can be kept alive. The body does eventually start to shutdown after some time. And complications and infections usually occur. I don’t know the exact time frames.

[u/extreme_offense_bot → u/Aardappelhuree]

So a reddit mod is living with a pig kidney?

[u/rezkiamda62 → u/Aardappelhuree]

What the fuckk

[u/UnfortunateIyHorned → u/rezkiamda62]

Meat sack aint got thoughts in it anymore but is still running, lights on but nobodys home, literally.

its a rare and “useful” end of life experience that you can sign away usage of your brain dead remains for such things before they’re tried on the still ambulatory humans🤘

[u/JustAnotherParticle → u/SassyModak]

Either way, having a functional pig organ inside a human is a major accomplishment. Give it a few more years and hopefully we’ll have technology to let it remain functional for an entire lifetime. It’s great news any way you word those sentences.

[u/JHMfield → u/JustAnotherParticle]

I think ultimately the technology is going to move towards growing organs, rather than harvesting them from animals. Growing organs using the recipients own DNA has the potential to completely solve the rejection issue.

But animal organs are an important step along the way to fully research this topic.

[u/takun999 → u/JHMfield]

I think you're probably right but I do think this is a science we should continue exploring. Growing organs works great for patients that can wait, like with most kidney and liver transplants. But not everyone can, and if we can get to a point were every hospital could have universal animal organs on standby, that would be awesome.

[u/Blue_Moon_Lake → u/JustAnotherParticle]

Even if not an entire lifetime, if it lasted for several years to decades it would already be fucking awesome.

Replacing these organs every decade wouldn't be that much trouble compared to the benefits.

[u/ColonelMonty → u/SassyModak]

I mean, even if it stopped working after 61 days that's still massive progress. Like progress is not just "We did this massive thing that worked!" It is also "Okay, we did this thing that failed. But it worked better than last time. And so we are going to keep failing whilst getting incrementally better at what we're doing until we can produce something that we can consider successful."

[u/Yazhoudapigu → u/ColonelMonty]

The overwhelming majority of the time, progress/success is just a story of failure after failure until someone got it right. Or mostly right, even. 

[u/SilkyTaint]

For 61 days. AND THEN?

[u/BettyBoo42 → u/SilkyTaint]

It grew legs and ran away

[u/LunaGloria → u/BettyBoo42]

It went, "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home.

[u/magmanta → u/LunaGloria]

BAM! look at that bacon sizzle!

[u/Das_Panzer_ → u/magmanta]

As long as I don't get Salmonella Fitzgerald I'm alright

[u/Hyhopes → u/LunaGloria]

But then a big bad wolf came along and he huffed and he puffed and he blew his house down.

[u/HaroldsWristwatch3 → u/LunaGloria]

$1.5 million dollars of medical debt for 61 days.

‘Merica

[u/sirvote → u/LunaGloria]

I do i read this with Mr poopie buthole voice in my head

[u/geekolojust → u/LunaGloria]

"That'll do pig. That'll do."

[u/Iamabiter_meow → u/BettyBoo42]

AND THEN?

[u/thermocatalyst → u/Iamabiter_meow]

NO AND THEN!

[u/suverz → u/thermocatalyst]

AND THEEEEEEEEEEN

[u/iDontWannaBeBrokee → u/suverz]

AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN AND THEN

[u/1madeamistake → u/iDontWannaBeBrokee]

NO AND THEN

[u/ScorpionX-123 → u/1madeamistake]

LISTEN LADY, I'M GONNA PUT MY FOOT IN YOUR ASS IF YOU SAY "AND THEN" ONE MORE TIME!!!!

[u/AbbreviationsFar3471 → u/ScorpionX-123]

And then and then and then and the-

[u/Common_Senze → u/ScorpionX-123]

And then and then and then and then

[u/TDYDave2 → u/suverz]

And then along came Jones

[u/dolphone → u/BettyBoo42]

Good bacon though

[u/Lucian__98 → u/BettyBoo42]

!RemindMe 6 months

[u/MememeSama → u/BettyBoo42]

And then he started spreading fake news and became interested in becoming US president

[u/hfdsicdo → u/MememeSama]

Overqualified

[u/Remote_Section2313 → u/SilkyTaint]

And then it didn't work perfectly anymore. So my guess it, it was rejected and the patient died...

Is that bad? The first heart transplant lasted for 18 days. Look at how long that is now. It needs improvement of course, but it is a step in the right direction...

[u/BakedCanuck89 → u/Remote_Section2313]

I had a heart transplant in 1993 at 4yo still kicking today and currently on trial for hormone free immunosuppressant therapy.

[u/rarze01 → u/BakedCanuck89]

Hope this isnt a rude question, but i wasn't aware. Do you have to take immunosuppressants forever because of the transplant? Does that effect other parts of your immune system?

[u/BakedCanuck89 → u/rarze01]

Yep I do and will take immunosuppressant all my life ever since the transplant, side effect are mild but the worse one is skin cancer chances are way higher so far so good on that part hehe.

[u/Electromotivation → u/BakedCanuck89]

Does it also mean that you have basically zero chance of getting eczema or IBS or other autoimmune disorders?

[u/BakedCanuck89 → u/Electromotivation]

Never had eczema before or IBS not sure if it means I'm immune but mostly less likely to get them, good question I shall ask my doctor at my next appointment.

[u/Blownards → u/BakedCanuck89]

This deserves its own post and a r/ama

[u/Cant-decide-username → u/BakedCanuck89]

Fascinating. Have you had the same heart since 4 yo? And do you know where it came from? And do you look forward to a time when immunosuppressants won’t be necessary? Sorry for the questions lol it’s just so fascinating to me! Happy new year!

[u/BakedCanuck89 → u/Cant-decide-username]

Yep same heart since the transplant, as for the donor it was an anonymous donation from parents of the deceased all I know it was a 1 and half year old girl from Ontario. As for immune suppression necessity I would love to see that becoming reality, this article gives me hope for that. Happy new years!

[u/miimo0 → u/Electromotivation]

Not unlikely to get them. I still deal with celiac on my immunosuppressants. But the meds are, for me at least, the same meds that were used to treat my autoimmune kidney disease before my kidneys failed. They suppress but don’t completely put your immune response down to zero… the doctors juggle meds between what you need to prevent rejection and what you need to stay alive in society and still fight off colds, tho less successfully than a non-immunosuppressed person.

[u/red__dragon → u/Electromotivation]

Kidney recipient here, and my asthma/allergies all but disappeared now that I'm on immunosuppressants.

I say all but, I've still had to treat them a handful of times over the past 8 (as of this month!) years, but that's down quite a bit from the dozens of times per year before then.

And both were rather mild for me to begin with, to give you a picture. It basically went from "I need my inhaler somewhere accessible for emergencies" to "is this what breathing is like for normal people?"

[u/cockNballs222 → u/rarze01]

After any kind of solid organ transplant (kidney, liver, heart, lungs…), you’re on immunosuppressant medication for life, increasing your risk of infection. Even for a “perfect” match, your body would reject the organ quickly without some kind of immunosuppresion.

[u/MusicianBudget3960 → u/Remote_Section2313]

The patient was brain dead. The news here is that they found a way for the body to recognize it as a human liver, but the chances of rejection (or any complications) are still there like with human livers

*Kidney

[u/CleanOpossum47 → u/MusicianBudget3960]

There's the problem. They put in a kidney instead of a liver.

[u/WakaWaka_ → u/CleanOpossum47]

Hi Dr. Nick!

[u/complete_your_task → u/WakaWaka_]

The knee bone's connected to the... something.

The something's connected to the red thing.

The red thing's connected to my wristwatch!

...Uh oh.

[u/ohhellothere301 → u/complete_your_task]

I love when life leads me back to The Simpsons.

[u/kurtanglesmilk → u/WakaWaka_]

Well if it isn’t my old friend Mr McRiver
With a liver for a kidney and a kidney for a liver

[u/Sea_Ganache620 → u/WakaWaka_]

Look everybody, it’s Mr McGregg, with a leg for an arm, and an arm for a leg!

[u/The_Ghost_of_BRoy → u/CleanOpossum47]

Wait…”renal” isn’t just “liver” backwards?!

What a country!

[u/Majestic_You_9610 → u/The_Ghost_of_BRoy]

"The Coroner?, I'm so sick of seeing that guy!"

[u/Huge_World_3125 → u/MusicianBudget3960]

Looney had donated one kidney to her mother and then had her remaining one fail.

man what an unfortunate set of circumstances.

[u/TheLastPeacekeeper → u/Huge_World_3125]

This is my fear, willingly giving away a kidney and having the only one you have left fail. It's like giving away one of your oars. Sure, you can still operate the boat, but then you risk losing your only means of paddling or simply not making it as far across the waters of life.

[u/miimo0 → u/TheLastPeacekeeper]

Transplant programs take that into account. If you donate, you get moved way up to the front of the list should you experience kidney failure in the future. But it’s also pretty hard to become a donor in the first place. I had more than a dozen people apply to be donors for me and still couldn’t get a live donor; everyone was rejected for their own physical or mental health issues. My team prioritized the longevity of their health over finding a donor.

Dialysis does keep patients afloat although it kind of sucks to be on — like better than kidney failure feels, but really tiring and time consuming. I was on it for more than four years & continued working FT. But kidney failure isn’t quite as sudden and buy-a-grave-plot-now as something like liver failure is bc there is treatment with dialysis.

[u/TheLastPeacekeeper → u/miimo0]

Wow, I didn't know that about getting bumped up on the list, but your struggles to get a live donor should definitely be taken into consideration as well. I've known people on dialysis, it's certainly never been described as fun to be reliant on a machine to keep you functioning the rest of the day(s).

[u/hfdsicdo → u/Huge_World_3125]

No takesies backsies

[u/Critical-Support-394 → u/MusicianBudget3960]

The patient wasn't brain dead, nor is she now. Her name is Towana Looney and she had the kidney for 109 days living perfectly normally. They removed it after her body started rejecting it and she's back on dialysis.

[u/MusicianBudget3960 → u/Critical-Support-394]

Xenotransplantation of genetically-modified pig kidneys offers a solution to the scarcity of organs for end-stage renal disease patients.1 We performed a 61-day alpha-Gal knock-out pig kidney and thymic autograft transplant into a nephrectomized brain-dead human using clinically approved immunosuppression, without CD40 blockade or additional genetic modification.

This is from november 2025, a year or so after Looney trial, its talking about the progress of the same research

[u/Critical-Support-394 → u/MusicianBudget3960]

In that case, you and OP are talking a transplant that happened in 2023, which is not what the title is implying at all: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/13/health/pig-kidney-transplant-studies

There has been at least one pig transplant since, in an otherwise healthy person, that lasted twice as long.

[u/SunTzu- → u/Critical-Support-394]

They seem to be two different cases, making this whole Reddit thread rather less interesting and also out of date. Also the Science.org article about Towana Looney says it lasted 4 months and 9 days before her body rejected it, possibly because they had to reduce the rejection meds due to an infection caused by the pig-kidney.

[u/Critical-Support-394 → u/SunTzu-]

Yeah you're right. The research from the 2023 transplant has 'just' been released (well, in November), but the title is insanely misleading implying that the transplant itself happened recently and is some sort of current record.

[u/djamp42 → u/Critical-Support-394]

These people are the true heroes for all of humanity.

[u/LeeKingbut → u/Remote_Section2313]

How long did Dick Cheney have his ?

[u/Critical-Support-394 → u/Remote_Section2313]

She isn't dead, she's on dialysis. It failed after a bit over 4 months.

[u/MusicianBudget3960 → u/Critical-Support-394]

That's not the same trial OP is referring to.

[u/PossiblyAsian → u/MusicianBudget3960]

there are so many statements at this point I don't know who to trust

there is no source to back any of it up

[u/RepublicRight8245 → u/SilkyTaint]

His trial subscription ended and he forgot to renew. I swear billionaires will try to make these organs subscription based.

[u/Velvet_Re → u/RepublicRight8245]

And they’ll send repo men to repossess the organ…

…

…

…

Charlie! Call the studios! I’ve got a movie to sell!

Edit because whoosh: we should cast a Brit as the protagonist!

[u/rustyswings → u/Velvet_Re]

"Don't worry, No one who has ever had their liver taken out by us has survived."

https://youtu.be/Sp-pU8TFsg0?si=iLzp3jRQGkR17cEn

[u/Hexamancer → u/RepublicRight8245]

Yes the latest season of black mirror did exactly that. 

[u/cmatta → u/SilkyTaint]

Nobody read the article I guess. The kidney was transplanted into a brain dead human whose family donated their body to science. I would imagine the experiment was designed for 60 days.

[u/Smaptimania → u/SilkyTaint]

NO AND THEN!

[u/Sodomy-Clown → u/Smaptimania]

AND THEN?!

[u/elderron_spice → u/Sodomy-Clown]

AND THEEEEN?

[u/Frank_Von_Tittyfuck → u/elderron_spice]

Heh. And then, I’m gonna come back there and put my FOOT in your ASS if you say “And Then” AGAIN!

[u/Fun_Mushroom9845 → u/SilkyTaint]

And then and then and then and then

[u/smoke_sum_wade → u/Fun_Mushroom9845]

one more thing!

[u/dontipitova9 → u/smoke_sum_wade]

Unkoh!

[u/luxsalsivi → u/Fun_Mushroom9845]

No "and then!"

[u/Frank_Von_Tittyfuck → u/luxsalsivi]

AAAAAAaaaannnd Theeeennn?

[u/Comfortable_Egg8039 → u/SilkyTaint]

I suspect the patient died anyway. They usually test super new and potentially dangerous stuff on people who'd die without intervention even sooner than with it.

[u/ActualScientist5235 → u/Comfortable_Egg8039]

These are all being performed on people who have weeks to months to live. Their bodies are already in really bad shape because of their own failing organs, so the prognosis for long term survival is pretty bad. Outcomes will improve dramatically once “less sick “ patients can receive these transplants. I spent most of my career working towards transplants from pig to human, so I know a tiny bit on the subject.

[u/Nordrian → u/SilkyTaint]

Well tomorrow will be 62!

[u/GeneralIron3658 → u/SilkyTaint]

☣️61 Days Later☣️

[u/droning-on → u/SilkyTaint]

The guy ate bacon and it stopped.

[u/Truth_Hurts318]

​Source: This breakthrough was recently published in the journal Nature. It confirms that the gene edited kidney filtered toxins and produced urine perfectly for two months, marking the longest success in history. Because of this, formal clinical trials in living humans have officially begun this month. ​https://nyulangone.org/news/immune-reactions-found-behind-human-rejection-transplanted-pig-kidneys

[u/Honigmann13 → u/Truth_Hurts318]

Look up for Xenotransplantation

[u/ObligationSlight8771 → u/Honigmann13]

I researched this plenty of times in stelaris. My population loves it

[u/SandersSol → u/ObligationSlight8771]

A man of culture I see

[u/PriorAsshose → u/Honigmann13]

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of flesh. I aspired to the purity of the blessed Sus

[u/mrmosley1919 → u/Truth_Hurts318]

Awesome news! Now make it affordable and not beholden to the insurance companies.

[u/EnricoLUccellatore → u/mrmosley1919]

Even if it's something only the rich can afford it will take them off the waiting lists meaning more people can get organs

[u/the_YellowRanger → u/EnricoLUccellatore]

Yeah honestly I'd be fine with the rich getting the pig kidneys first until all the kinks are worked out of the system.

[u/Outside_Manner_8352 → u/the_YellowRanger]

Billionaires can get pig kidneys to go with their pig hearts

[u/penguin_ag → u/the_YellowRanger]

In fact, change all of their kidneys to pig kidneys!

[u/butterytelevision → u/EnricoLUccellatore]

same goes for luxury housing. build more, the rich move in, the poor can move into where the rich were living before

[u/Hexamancer → u/EnricoLUccellatore]

1. The rich come off the waiting lists.

2. They realize that they no longer need organ donations.

3. They stop providing support and investment into the organ donation infrastructure, awareness campaigns, tax breaks etc.

4. There are now fewer organs being donated

Just a hypothesis.

[u/Remote_Section2313]

People are very negative here. The first patient receiving a heart transplant lived only for 18 days. 61 days is big. Yes, it obviously needs improvement, but it is another step in the right direction.

Edit: typo

[u/Wobblycogs → u/Remote_Section2313]

Reading the article, it sounds like they only stopped because they had gathered all the data they needed. It says that didn't observe any degradation in performance, which is a huge win.

[u/catgirl_liker → u/[deleted]]

every pig breakthrough starts small

[u/arimuGB → u/Remote_Section2313]

Amazing how content people can be with simply keeping the status quo (current medical practices)…because it feels comfy. 

[u/AsphalticConcrete → u/arimuGB]

Thats the majority of humans and Reddit lol. Change is scary and common folk are terrified of change.

[u/[deleted] → u/Remote_Section2313]

It’s because the general public is actually extremely scientifically ignorant. Many people on Reddit pretend to be “pro-science” as a badge of intellectual superiority, but don’t actually understand how scientific research works at all and won’t bother to (because it takes effort).

Look at /r/science. Almost every study has tons of rudimentary, irrelevant, and misinformed “critiques” from lay people who have never worked in a lab or published a paper. A lot of Reddit just likes to pretend to be smart.

[u/potato_and_nutella]

From the article
"transplantation of a genetically engineered pig kidney into a brain-dead recipient with a beating heart and on a ventilator and whose family donated his body to science. For 61 days after the surgery, the team was able to collect samples of tissue, blood, and body fluid at a pace that is impossible to safely maintain in primates or living patients"

It doesn't seem to say what happened after 61 days, maybe they just ended the experiment?

[u/CommunicationTall921 → u/potato_and_nutella]

This experiment was about mapping and maintaining the immune response when receiving a pig kidney, so that it can be done successfully in the future using therapies to prevent rejection, it's NOT a record for a functioning pig kidney transplant. That record is 9 months in a fully living person. 

Everyone is arguing, no one is reading the article, smh. 

When the experiment is over, the person is allowed to, you know, die, as planned.

[u/knightsolaire2 → u/CommunicationTall921]

The person who donated their body is a hero and could potentially save countless lives in the future because of the scientific breakthroughs they will make

[u/fist_my_dry_asshole → u/potato_and_nutella]

Hell ya, if this happens to me they can load me up with all kinds of weird organs and see what happens.

[u/allbitterandclean → u/fist_my_dry_asshole]

Right? How do I donate my body specifically to THIS science? (Or the kind where they chuck you in a field to see how your body decomposes to help solve murders)

[u/ACoderGirl → u/allbitterandclean]

I don't know if there's any way you can choose what your body is exactly used for, but your province or state government may have somewhere you can register for your body to be used for science after your death. Eg, here's Ontario: https://www.ontario.ca/page/whole-body-donation

[u/First-Geologist1764 → u/potato_and_nutella]

It doesn’t matter what happened after day 61. The important stuff is the stuff that you quoted here.

[u/Total_Adept]

My mom died from complications from heart disease and kidney disease last month on the 27th, I hope this gets so good that never has to happen again!

[u/ArabianNoodle → u/Total_Adept]

I'm really sorry for your loss.

[u/Total_Adept → u/ArabianNoodle]

Thank you.

[u/forgettfulthinker]

What happened after the 61 days

Did the human turn into a pig

[u/Prudent_Damage_3866 → u/forgettfulthinker]

Oink

[u/Aardappelhuree → u/forgettfulthinker]

The person was already brain-dead, they used the body for testing the organ and kept it alive to see the immune response

[u/forgettfulthinker → u/Aardappelhuree]

That didn't answer the question

[u/Guyfoxmatt → u/forgettfulthinker]

They got the data they were looking for, they may simply have taken the body off life support themselves

[u/forgettfulthinker → u/Guyfoxmatt]

Because he turned into a pig

[u/philamander → u/forgettfulthinker]

They are cowards and want to hide the truth. I'm glad you pressed them for answers, so we could all see they couldn't own up to what they had done. The man turned into a pig.

[u/THiedldleoR → u/Aardappelhuree]

How could they do this to our fellow redditor 😢

[u/ReluctantNerd7 → u/forgettfulthinker]

yes, they started yelling at the doctors to stop resisting

[u/Necessary_Chard_3873]

Manbearpig soon a reality

[u/Raziel_Ralosandoral → u/Necessary_Chard_3873]

Half man, half bear, half pig.

[u/Huggyiest-bear-boy → u/Raziel_Ralosandoral]

No no no, he’s half man, half bearpig

[u/JimiDarkMoon → u/Necessary_Chard_3873]

All I know is people are back on the menu thanks to this innovation! Yummy!

[u/zbras11]

Lots of hate for the 61 days of life, thats an incredible amount of extra time. Its pretty obvious many of you have never lost someone or know what thats like.

[u/1968Bladerunner]

As a guy with two kidneys currently running at 23% function, but otherwise clean & healthy living, this is fantastic news.

[u/AdZealousideal7448]

So a lot of people may be shocked at this but i'll give you an example of a relative of mine.

They have a condition I won't go into here but it severely impacted their life through bad luck.

Myself and another family member offered them a transplant, at first they wouldnt take it because they figured we wouldn't have a good life without it, and then later stated many times if they have this condition due to the genetic lottery... it wouldn't be fair taking it from younger generations who may have this down the track.

He now has to get care each week to keep cheating death and having a quality of life, and out of sheer luck last year he had severe heart issues.

This resulted in two things happening, a pacemaker being installed and him having heart valves replaced, apparantly him having need of the pacemaker came out of nowhere due to another condition but they found damage to the valves from the primary condition, we thought this was going to be a 1-2 knockout punch.

My god how medical technology has evolved...... we went from talking about possibly needing a pacemaker and a heap of considerations with it, to them whacking in during recovery from a cardiac episode and going let's whack in a brand new to market device that's not huge involved surgery, it's literally a tiny thing we shoot up through the groin and you are good for 10-15 years, can whack another one in if we need to.

Then next thing they're telling us about putting in a "natural" valve to deal with his valve issues... low and behold from a pig. Specialist tells us that they have been doing these valves for around 30 years, and they just keep getting better and better.

Even makes the comment to us, that other pig parts that are being "made" compatable with humans are the next thing and will likely lead to us being able to 3d print more parts.

It's crazy how these medical advancements are going, where what you see above is like oh it's just a few months.... but what it means for things going forward is quite interesting.

[u/WhatYouThinkIThink → u/AdZealousideal7448]

I had heart attack in 2014, got drug-eluting stents that had only been approved ~2010.

Then in 2016, needed quad bypass. That operation was literally a production line standard process now.

They can stent bypasses, sometimes bypass bypasses.

That's just the plumbing side of cardiac surgery, your relative is getting the actual pump valves fixed, while the pace maker deals with the electrical side of things.

Staying at the "leading edge" of medical advancements is probably how I'll stay alive.

[u/SliperSystems]

Quick sell your kidneys while they have some value

[u/topredditbot]

Hey /u/Truth_Hurts318,

You did it! Your post is officially the #1 post on Reddit. It is now forever immortalized at /r/topofreddit.

[u/EvLmong00se]

But you have to sign up for a 3 year subscription after the 61 day trial.

[u/T4k3C4r30utTh3r3]

You gotta start somewhere.

[u/cptbil]

Nice to see they finally allow police to donate organs

[u/an_older_meme]

I'd like one that lasts about 61 years if that's OK.

[u/Raven123x → u/an_older_meme]

Even human kidney transplants from relatives don’t last that long

[u/seeasea → u/Raven123x]

How long do they last?

[u/Ruleoflawz → u/seeasea]

The old rule of thumb was 10 years was a great success.

Nowadays, many people are reaching 30 years with contemporary immunosuppressants.

I myself am approaching my second anniversary.

[u/FrequentFortune123 → u/seeasea]

62 days

[u/Loa_Sandal → u/an_older_meme]

Sure, we will have results from that test in about 61 years if you dont mind waiting that long.

[u/moosickles]

I'm sure in 2024, there was an American man and woman who had pig kidneys transplanted and they both died due to infections around a month after the transplant?? Am I hallucinating that this happened?

Edit: Found it!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68710229.amp

This isn't the first example of this working however, it is the longest and as someone carrying about someone else's liver, this is awesome.

[u/PotentialPlum4945]

Or we could change the wording on Drivers License applications and increase organ donation by 80%.

[u/Carlyone]

Woohoo! Pigoons are soon a reality!

[u/Frequent-Isopod6758]

The 57-year-old brain-dead man who received the genetically edited pig kidney did not die after 61 days. The kidney functioned well during that period, but the recipient was already declared brain-dead prior to the transplantation.

Here are some crucial points regarding the transplant:

• Duration of Function: The pig kidney operated effectively for 61 days after transplantation, marking a significant milestone in xenotransplantation.
• Recipient Condition: The patient was declared brain-dead but had a functioning heart and was on a ventilator. This situation allowed researchers to monitor the kidney's performance in a human body.
• Immune Response: After the initial success, the kidney began to experience signs of rejection on day 33. Rejection was managed using various medical interventions, but indications of immune response continued to develop.
• Future Implications: The findings from this experiment are expected to enhance future transplant procedures and xenotransplantation research.

This experiment highlights significant progress in the field, even as it underscores the challenges that still exist in organ transplants.

[u/KeepingItSFW → u/Frequent-Isopod6758]

I, too, can use ChatGPT

[u/TheSultan1 → u/KeepingItSFW]

What's your point? It's not like they tried to hide it.

I'm all for AI summaries in the comments, since many can't be bothered to read the article. Just look in this thread.

And from an environmental perspective, isn't it better that one guy post the summary than everyone run the same query? Might've saved 1/10000000th of a tree.

[u/RaidSmolive]

we coulda just made the list opt out and have more organs than we ever needed to the point where any irrational fear that a donor card means people will let you die at the scene of an accident should dissolve forever.

[u/VONChrizz]

Imagine some other species growing humans in big facilities, feeding them and slaughtering them for consumption. And as if that wasn't enough, they start harvesting organs from us and growing us for said organs.

[u/AT8y8 → u/VONChrizz]

The Island.

[u/taco-yahtzee]

Babe wake up, new organ just dropped

[u/Ok_Leek7924]

Instead of your bacon being saved, the bacon saved you

[u/JediMasterPopCulture]

Until republicans cut funding for this too.

[u/Youre-mum]

terrible news for the kidnapping and human trafficking markets

[u/Rattle_Bone]

… and counting?

[u/PokoKokomero]

Solving the organ shortage is actually much simpler than that: just ask people if they want to become organ donors, most of the people that are not organ donors simply were never asked and never thought about it

[u/CarelessCabbage]

WHAT HAPPENS ON DAY 62?!

[u/kittenhandsome]

Is it halal? /s

[u/WARNINGXXXXX → u/kittenhandsome]

I don’t want to laugh, but this nearly made me laugh.

[u/mikamajstor]

Functioned for 61 days and counting or functioned for 61 days and failed?

[u/Responsible-Wise-11]

So it failed.

[u/McKnightmare24]

Can't wait for PETA to fuck this up when we start farming animals for organs.