As per a survey conducted by the Government of India, as many as 5 lakh people in the country die because of?non-availability of organs.?Over 150,000 people await a kidney transplant but only 5,000 are lucky enough to get one.
But soon this won't be a problem, as pig hearts could be transplanted in humans as early as 2022, according to Sir Terence English who has mastered heart transplants in the UK.
Reuters
The legend who performed the world's first successful heart transplant, 40 years ago, mentions that his protege is working on transplanting a pig's kidney in a human, and if that works, it could work for heart transplants too.?
Sir Terrence English stated, in an interview with the Telegraph, "If the result of xenotransplantation is satisfactory with porcine kidneys to humans, then it is likely that hearts would be used with good effects in humans within a few years," the 87-year-old said. "If it works with a kidney, it will work with a heart. That will transform the issue."
A pig's heart is anatomically as well as physiologically very similar to a human heart. Recently, in May, a genetic therapy revealed that injecting a small piece of genetic material called microRNA-199 into?a heart damaged by cardiac arrest resulted in the cells to regenerate.
The research study revealed when they delivered microRNA-199 into pigs and it worked like a charm, with almost complete recovery of cardiac function in a month's time.
Reuters
One of the main causes of heart failure after cardiac arrest survivors is due to Myocardial infarction that happens after the coronary arteries are blocked. This leaves the survivors with permanent structural damage to their heart.
There are scientists at Tel Aviv University in Israel who have managed to successfully make the first ever 3D-printed heart that was printed using uses cells and biological material?from a patient.
According to Sir Terrence English, genetically engineered organs like these could prove really helpful for patients who are on the waiting list for organs.?