NYU Progress on Pig kidney Rejection Offers New Hope for Patients Waiting for Transplants
USA: Andrea Sampson, a 30-year-old volunteer EMT from New Jersey, is confronting the strain of life on dialysis and the prospect of a third kidney transplant after a childhood diagnosis of membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. She balances emergency medical volunteering with a master’s program in acupuncture, but advancing fatigue and the demands of chronic illness have made sustaining both increasingly difficult. One of her previous kidneys was donated by her father, Eric, and the family has already been touched by kidney donation within their extended circle.
This week researchers at NYU Langone Health reported notable progress in studying human responses to kidneys sourced from pigs, having developed approaches to manage several forms of the body’s rejection of those organs. NYU associate professor Dr. Adam Griesemer described the work as increasing the likelihood that if rejection occurs in a living recipient it can be treated effectively and the survival of pig organs in humans extended to a clinically useful timeframe. The work is positioned as a step toward translating laboratory advances into treatments for patients.
Clinical testing of xenotransplants is already under way in older adults, with trials involving patients in the 50 to 70 age range. For younger transplant candidates like Sampson, the development of pig kidney transplantation could expand options: a successful xenotransplant program might relieve pressure on the human donor pool and increase the chance of finding a compatible living donor, or free more human kidneys for others on waiting lists.
Time is critical for those awaiting kidneys, and the NYU findings were presented as a reason for cautious optimism for thousands of patients who currently face long waits. Families coping with kidney disease, including those who have already donated to loved ones, see the research as a potential way to broaden access to lifesaving transplants and shift the landscape for future recipients.
