*Free* Developing pig-to-human xenotransplants

In a Perspective, Megan Sykes discusses the promise, potential, and recent progress toward pig-to-human xenotransplants, which could address the unmet demand for human transplant organs. Currently, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. alone are awaiting organ transplants. And because the human donor pool cannot keep pace with this demand, many patients die before receiving a life-saving transplant. Although emerging technologies, such as tissue engineering, may one day offer an alternative solution, there is currently no substitute for the transplantation of a fully formed and functioning organ. However, pigs are similar to humans in organ size and physiology and recent advancements, including the first pig-to-human transplants, have demonstrated the potential for pig organ xenotransplants, which could offer a potential solution to the dire transplant organ shortage. Here, Sykes highlights this progress, the promise of the approach, and the challenges that still need to be overcome, including navigating ethical concerns, reducing organ rejection in humans and ensuring that pig-to-human transplants are free from viruses that could infect hosts, for example. Although further research is needed to address these unknowns, Sykes argues that trials of this promising approach should continue in humans. "Many questions remain before xenotransplantation can be optimized in humans, but this should not prevent preliminary clinical studies from proceeding," Sykes writes. "These commitments to xenotransplantation now will ultimately pay off in incalculable dividends for human health in the future.