NEW YORK. In a significant development, a family’s courageous choice to contribute a body for pig kidney research holds the potential to revolutionize transplantation procedures. Mary Miller-Duffy found herself in a state of shock and mourning when her brother suddenly collapsed and subsequently was declared brain-dead. This tragic situation posed a difficult question: Should she opt to donate her brother’s body for research purposes?
This marked the beginning of Maurice “Mo” Miller’s journey, as his body found its way to a well-lit corner of NYU Langone Health’s intensive care unit. His body’s involvement in this endeavor forms a crucial part of the ongoing effort to address the scarcity of transplantable organs by exploring the use of animal organs.
Miller-Duffy recalled that her brother had always been driven by a desire to assist others, making her decision even more challenging. However, she takes pride in her brother’s final act, seeing something positive emerge from the tragedy. She stated, “This unfortunate and sudden passing, as brief as it was, has yielded something positive.”
Medical professionals performed a groundbreaking procedure on July 14 by replacing Miller’s kidneys with one sourced from a genetically modified pig. Subsequently, the deceased man received care from doctors and nurses, mirroring the treatment provided to a living patient, as they eagerly monitored the progress over the course of the following days.
Astoundingly, more than a month later, the transplanted pig kidney is exhibiting all the functions of a healthy human kidney. This achievement marks the longest period that a pig kidney has successfully functioned inside a human body. As the calendar turns towards September, the focus is now on assessing whether the kidney can sustain its performance for a second month.
The Associated Press gained unique insight into the intricacies of experiments involving posthumous subjects, which could potentially bring the realization of animal-to-human transplants one step closer.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
