How Genetically Modified Pigs Could End the Shortage of Organs for Transplants
February 29, 2024 | Source: NPR | by Rob Stein
NEAR BLACKSBURG, Va. — It’s a crisp, clear winter day as I drive down a winding two-lane road through the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in southwest Virginia and turn onto an unmarked gravel driveway.
At the end of the drive, I meet David Ayares, who runs Revivicor Inc., a biotech company based in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Ayares has invited me to be the first journalist to tour the company’s research farm, which is on the forefront of trying to realize a long-sought goal: using cloned farm animals to provide kidneys, hearts, livers and other organs to save thousands of people who need transplants.
“It’s exciting. We’ve been working on this for more than 20 years. And it’s no longer a science fiction experiment,” Ayares says. “It’s actually a reality.”
The experiments hold promise for alleviating the chronic shortage of organs for transplantation. But the research is also stirring concerns about the ethics of using farm animals for their organs and the risks of spreading animal viruses to people.