ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

Pig heart grafted to baboons still keep beating after two years

Five baboons were each hooked up with a pig heart alongside their own hearts. Essentially, these baboons lived with two hearts and the pig one still functioned two years on average after the grafting, marking a marvelous breakthrough in xenografting.

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
April 6, 2016
in Health, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

RelatedPosts

Why is pork bad for you — a look at what the science says
Pig organ transplants into humans might be two years away in China
Adorable gene-edited micropigs to be sold as pets in China – and this is a problem
The world’s oldest known cave painting in Indonesia shows a chonky wild pig

Five baboons were each hooked up with a pig heart alongside their own hearts. Essentially, these baboons lived with two hearts and the pig one still functioned two years on average after the grafting, marking a marvelous breakthrough in xenografting. The longest a pig heart kept beating was 945 days or nearly three years.

pig-1122183_1280
Image: Pixabay

The hearts were sourced from genetically modified piglets, engineered for biocompatibility with the baboon organism. The researchers suppressed the alpha 1-3 galactosyltransferase gene which produces an epitope that is easily recognized as foreign. The process isn’t perfect though, so the baboons had to kept for the whole duration of the experiment on immunosuppressants, not all that different to those that humans who undergo heart transplant have to take for all their lives.

The chimeric milestone was reported in the journal Nature Communications.

“This milestone shattered previous records of pig-to-primate heart transplant also achieved by this group of researchers over past five years,” the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute announced in a news release.

Previously, the same researchers grafted hearts to baboons that survived for more than 200 days, but this latest attempt is far more successful. The end goal is to eventually have a primate survive on a single heart from a foreign species, likely a pig. This would open an avenue for human hybrid transplants. Another more Frankenstein line of research involves growing human hearts directly into a pig or some other animal and having it transplanted afterward. The heart would be grown from cells collected from the would-be recipient so, theoretically, it would be like a getting a new heart specially built for the recipient with fewer risks of immune rejection. Technical challenges are huge at this point, though.

Tags: pig

ShareTweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

Related Posts

Health

Human-like Teeth Grown in Pigs Could Make Dental Implants a Thing of the Past

byTibi Puiu
5 months ago
Health

In a world-first, dying man receives heart transplant from a pig

byTibi Puiu
3 years ago
News

The world’s oldest known cave painting in Indonesia shows a chonky wild pig

byMihai Andrei
4 years ago
Animals

Pigs like to interact with humans just like dogs do — but they’re independent problem solvers

byMihai Andrei
5 years ago

Recent news

Tennis May Add Nearly 10 Years to Your Life and Most People Are Ignoring It

July 4, 2025

Humans Have Been Reshaping Earth with Fire for at Least 50,000 Years

July 4, 2025

The Strangest Microbe Ever Found Straddles The Line Between Life and Non-Life

July 4, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.