GalSafe Pig Organ Xenotransplantation: A Bright Future for More than 800,000 Americans

Abstract

Over 54 percent of US citizens are registered as organ donors, however, fewer than 1 percent of deaths result in useable organs [1]. By a large margin, kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organ, followed by liver, heart, lungs, and pancreas. Typically, kidney failure is due to diabetes or severe hypertension. In 2021, it is estimated that more than 800,000 Americans live with kidney failure but their wait times for a human kidney can range from four months to six years depending on a multitude of factors: blood type, geographic location, disease severity, immune system activity, and numerous other factors.