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NYU Langone Health

NYU Langone Health

Xenotransplantation: A New Potential Possibility for Kidney Transplants?

Xenotransplantation: A New Potential Possibility for Kidney Transplants?

Learn about a new procedure that may, one day, be a lifesaving gift for ESKD patients.


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Are you an end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patient that looks forward to the day when dialysis will not be your primary option for treatment? Donor transplants are also an option, but approximately 90,000 patients in the United States are still waiting to receive donations. Fortunately, new methods are being developed and researched to help ESKD patients sooner. 

New York University (NYU) Langone Health is researching and performing a new procedure to restore kidney function and improve patients’ quality of life. Learn more about xenotransplantation and how it may, one day, be an option for ESKD patients.* 

What Is Xenotransplantation?

Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of living cells, tissues, or organs from one species to another. The concept has been around for centuries but has only recently been considered a potentially viable course of treatment in the United States. NYU Langone Health is investigating the use of xenotransplantation to provide pig kidneys to kidney failure patients. 

How Does It Work?

Researchers from NYU Langone Health performed their second successful investigational xenotransplant surgery using a genetically engineered pig kidney on November 22, 2021. 

This kidney was created and manipulated to prevent rejection by a human body and attached to the blood vessels in the upper leg, outside the abdomen. It was then covered with a protective shield for observation and testing. 

Urine production and creatinine levels–key indicators of a properly functioning kidney– were normal and equivalent to what is seen in a human kidney transplant. Throughout the procedure and the 54-hour observation period after the transplant, there were no signs of rejection. 

How Soon Could Xenotransplantation Be an Option?

Scientists still need to conduct extensive research and coordinate human trials before xenotransplantation is an option for the public. However, the success of this surgery gives them hope. 

“We continue to make progress with the single-gene knockout xenotransplantation,” says Dr. Robert Montgomery, Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “With additional study and replication, this could be the path forward to saving many thousands of lives each year.”

*NYU Langone Health Performs Second Successful Xenotransplantation Surgery. (2021, December 13). NYU Langone Health. Retrieved January 4, 2022, from https://nyulangone.org/news/nyu-langone-health-performs-second-successful-xenotransplantation-surgery 

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