There are more than 120,000 people in the U.S. waiting for an organ transplant and not enough donors. The dire shortage has led some researchers to consider an unusual solution: They are breeding genetically modified pigs whose organs could be compatible for human transplant. Researchers have been trying for decades to make animal-to-human transplants work, a process known as xenotransplantation. Pigs are a particularly promising source of organs. They produce big litters. Organs such as the kidney and liver are similar in...
Scientists are turning to xenotransplantation, the use of genetically modified animals, to fill the shortfall of human organs for transplant, with CRISPR gene-editing technology helping to ensure pig organs are compatible with human patients. Scientists at EGenesis Bio have used CRISPR to inactivate viral remnants in the pigs, while a team at the University of Minnesota is using the gene-editing tool to study insulin-producing pig pancreatic islets. The US Food and Drug Administration said requests to start human studies would be "evaluated on a case-by-case basis".