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When pigs fly and men go oink

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Winston Churchill once said “Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” Now, the former great leader’s words seem more than a little prophetic with the announcement made by Nanjing Medical University that pigs may soon be able to provide suitable organs for transplant into human bodies. Researchers at the university say the first batch of genetically modified (GM) pigs will be born in the second half of this year. Dai Yifan, lead researcher of the project, said that pig organs need to be genetically altered to be compatible with human bodies. Clinical trials are expected to take place over the next two to three years, beginning with pig corneas and skin. This shall lead to trials for major organs including heart, kidneys and liver that will take up to five years. “Theoretically, knocking out relevant genes could be a solution for organ rejection from human bodies, but we have to admit the fact that animals and humans are different, and the success on monkeys does not necessarily ensure success on humans,” said Doctor Ding Yitao at the Nanjing Gulou Hospital. China is placing great hope on its efforts in genetic engineering as one way to ease the nation’s shortage of transplant organs, while the city of Nanjing lies at the forefront of such research into pig-human organ transplants.

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