Monkeys survive two+ years with transplanted pig kidneys

What's the news: Monkeys with transplanted pig kidneys survive for two-plus years.

Why should we believe it: This news is based on a new study published just yesterday by scientists working for eGenesis, a biotech company co-founded by longevity researcher George Church. The eGenesis scientists genetically engineered pig kidneys in 60 different ways to:

• Suppress the likelihood of an immune response in the host (3 edits).

• Make pig kidney cells behave more like human cells (7 edits).

• Prevent latent pig diseases from surfacing in the monkeys (59 edits).

The result was that when transplanted into monkeys, the monkeys survived for a median of 6 months, with some of the monkeys surviving for 2 or more years. Previously, the best that monkeys could hope to do with a transplanted pig kidney was to live for three months or less.

Why this is a big deal: This study points to a future in which human patients might also get pig kidneys instead of having to go on dialysis, which is a traumatic and arduous procedure. Looking even further, pigs might be a source of other organs for human hosts — 17 people die in the US each day while waiting for an organ transplant.

So what's next: The current results are good enough that eGenesis plans to apply for FDA approval to run a phase 1 clinical trial to test the viability in humans. If everything goes according to plan, that trial should kick off in 2025.