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Health Check: Pig organs for transplant patients

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Two pigs on farm

2022/02/16 GMT

Pig organs for transplant patients

BBC World Service - Health Check, Pig organs for transplant patients

Could pig organs solve the global shortage of hearts and kidneys?

Two recent breakthrough surgeries show how far the science of pig to human organ transplants has developed. The science is thrilling, but is it the right way to solve the problem?

People die waiting for replacement hearts, lungs and kidneys. Could genetically modified pigs be the solution to a worldwide shortage of organ donors?  
 
We meet the teams that have had impressive recent successes transplanting pig organs into people. We’ll explore the huge leaps of genetic engineering that are making 'xenotransplantation' possible and ask if it’s even ethical to try. 
 
In the studio with Marnie Chesterton, Dr Graham Easton guides us through the science of getting pig organs to work in human bodies.  
 
We also hear from transplant surgeon Dr Devagourou Velayoudam and Professor Nadey Hakim, on how these breakthroughs might benefit India and Nigeria, and other countries which don’t have the same medical and research resources of the US.  
 
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton 
Producer: Ilan Goodman 

(Picture: Two pigs on a farm. Photo credit: Charity Burggraaf/Getty Images.)

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