Fiona Loud, Policy Director at Kidney Care UK, said: “There are several programs researching different ways to meet the global shortage of organs – including most recently, using bio-ink in 3D printers and pig to human organ transplants. Patients are of course very interested in these and welcome new developments. The latest progress in the pig to human transplant field is encouraging but using animal organs in human transplants is still a long way off; and their use must be approached with caution as there are issues of ethics and safety that need to be considered first, as well as finding a way to reduce or eliminate organ rejection.
“Ultimately, the tragic reality is that right now three people die every single day whilst waiting for a transplant in the UK. What patients need, here and now, is for more awareness of how organ donation transforms lives. We encourage people to consider becoming a living donor and more people to sign the organ donor register at www.organdonation.nhs.uk.”
Read the full story at BBC news: GM pigs take step to being organ donors