I have always wondered what decision I would make facing such a health concern.
> Reaching 12 months would be another milestone and a “fantastic long-term outcome”, he adds.
I am surprised by this being considered a long-term outcome though. Going through the high risk of a kidney transplant, immunosuppression required, risk of using a pig kidney in general, etc seems like a lot if the hope is for 12 months as a long-term unlikelihood.
The alternative is dialysis, which isn't a good patient experience at all. And this is an experimental procedure, testing an early version of the xenotransplant technology. A bad long term outcome would be "the organ ends up rejected within two weeks, and does some damage to the patient while at it".
In a perfect world, this tech would work first try, and the xenotransplant would last for decades. We don't live in a perfect world.
If this proves a workable stopgap, bridging the wait time for the people waiting for donor organs, extending lives of those who don't qualify for organ donations? It might be worth using on those grounds alone. And it's likely that organ longevity could be improved iteratively.
I.e. use an organ to failure, figure out what went wrong and what the host immune system has reacted to, find a way to gene edit around that, get another 6 months of transplant longevity in the next version. Rinse and repeat.
Yes, we don't know what the true limits are - "universal and permanent organ replacement" is very much on the table with this tech. But it's pretty clear: getting all the way there wouldn't be quick or easy. A year of organ lifetime is a damn good start.
I've been on dialysis for 5 years now... which means when I eventually get listed for transplant, I'll be at the top of the list, because nobody survives 5 years...
This may offer some hope: Thomas Yuen lived for 42 years on dialysis. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Yuen>
My thoughts with you wish you the best. Curious why you aren't already on a waiting list for a transplant?
The rules are very strict, primarily with respect to weight. That is, was (and still am) fat, and that's a no-no. I've lost 120 pounds so far, with at least 10 more to go before I will finally be (possibly) approved!
And this is why this is so exciting. The rules are so strict because kidney supply is extremely limited and they want to maximize the life of the kidney as much as possible.
Having a ready supply of pig kidneys would be fantastic. All the sudden it wouldn't matter as much that you are a bad candidate, you might end up simply cycling through pig kidneys more frequently.
It was unlikely outcome since nobody had lived there long on a pig organ. It is a good milestone since people who live that long, tend to have a good long-term prognosis.