Animals Revolutionize Future of Organ Transplants

Pigs have long carried a bad reputation. They are often described as dirty, greedy animals that eat everything in sight and spend their days lying around. In reality, none of these stereotypes are true. Pigs are intelligent, have a highly developed sense of smell, and like to stay clean. They often roll in mud, not because of laziness but to cool down and protect themselves from parasites.

But there is another, far more important fact about pigs: they are now at the center of a medical revolution that could transform the future of organ transplantation. With demand for donor organs vastly outpacing supply, researchers are turning to genetically engineered pigs as potential life-saving sources of hearts, kidneys, livers and even lungs.

The idea is not based on vague similarity to humans but on precise genetic engineering. By shutting off certain pig genes, such as the one that produces a sugar molecule called alpha-gal, and adding human genes, scientists can make pig organs appear more “human” to the immune system, reducing the risk of immediate rejection.

The study was led by Prof. Shulamit Levenberg in the Technion Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, who directs Israel’s first 3D bioprinting center, developing functional tissues from stem cells to advance organ transplantation.