What if pigs could not only provide you with your breakfast rashers, but also with an organ transplant to save your life in case of kidney failure?

In a paper published by the American journal Science, scientists working for the US-based biotech company eGenesis say they have produced gene-edited pigs that would potentially be safer to use for harvesting organs.

Pigs are very close to humans including in size, raising the prospect of raising genetically-engineered pigs as donors for hearts, lungs and other organs. One risk hampering progress in this area has been the presence in pigs’ genome of porcine endogenous retroviruses – known under the apt acronym PERVs. The viruses could be harmful to humans, especially people under treatment to suppress their immune system so that they do not reject a transplanted organ.

According to Science, the researchers managed to erase the virus codes from pigs DNA, inject it into eggs taken from the ovaries of a normal farm sow in China and grow viable embryos. Some 37 piglets born as a result of the experiment were found to be PERV-free.

Other scientists interviewed by Science acknowledged the achievement of the eGenesis team, but warned that many other issues remain to be solved before pigs’ organs can be transplanted into humans.

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