A Gene Editing Solution to Increase the Supply of Donor Organs
There is a critical shortage of donor organs for life-saving transplants. One way to address this crisis involves harvesting organs from animals and placing them into human patients. The concept, called xenotransplantation, has only recently become feasible due to advances in gene editing technologies, which make it possible to molecularly engineer organs from animals, such as pigs, that can sidestep the human immune system. Researchers are making significant strides in developing animal organs that are suitable for humans and recently embarked on the first in-human transplants of gene-edited pig organs.
