FEW people know more about transplanting animal organs into humans than David Cooper. "I think this is the beginning of a complete revolution in transplantation," he says. Cooper, a surgeon and researcher at Harvard Medical School, is referring to the creation of pigs genetically modified to make their organs more suitable for xenotransplantation - the use of organs from other animals in humans. A series of such transplants has made recent headlines. Late in 2021, two teams transplanted pig kidneys into people who were brain-dead in experiments lasting just a few days. Then, in January, a pig heart was transplanted into 57-year-old David Bennett, who is said to be slowly recovering with no signs of organ rejection by his body.
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