A team of scientists says it has created a pig that can be used in transplantations in humans. According to the team, which includes researchers from Meiji University and Kyoto Prefectural University, the animal is the first to be developed for transplantation based on national guidelines for xenotransplantation, in which animal organs and cells are transplanted into humans.
The team will present its findings at a forum of the Japanese Society for Xenotransplantation in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on Saturday, and plans to jointly supply the pigs with a private company early next year. More than 200 pig-to-human xenotransplantations have been conducted in New Zealand, Russia and other countries in response to a shortage of organs for transplant, as pig organs are functionally similar to those of humans. No such xenotransplantations have been conducted in Japan. READ MORE
