Winston Unveils ‘Life-Saving’ Pig Organ Research

ONE of the UK’s most eminent scientists is conducting revolutionary transplant research that could see humans receive animal organs by the end of the decade.

Professor Robert Winston, the pioneer of IVF to treat infertility on the NHS, has been granted a licence to carry out experiments with pigs that he believes will finally solve the problem of animal organs being rejected by the human body.

The research – if successful – promises to end the tragedy and misery of patients who wait for years to receive kidneys, livers and hearts because of a chronic lack of human organs.

Winston will create genetically-altered pigs, manipulating the animals’ DNA to remove the molecular markers that cause rejection by the human body.

There are currently more than 6,300 people in Britain waiting for a transplant – some of whom die before a donor becomes available.

Winston, in Scotland to address the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, acknowledged his research would attract criticism from animal rights campaigners, but said there was no moral difference between his project and using animals for food.

In an exclusive interview with Scotland on Sunday, he said: “Transplantation and the failure of this country to provide enough organs for donation is an area I feel quite strongly about at the moment.

“There are too many people who die while on waiting lists without ever finding a suitable transplant.”

Winston, who presented television hits including the BBC’s The Human Body series, added: “My main areas of research have shifted to look at finding new ways of getting genes into animals, particularly pigs.

“I have been granted a licence to use sperm to make transgenic animals that have organs that could be transplanted into humans.”

The human immune system detects molecules on the surface of a transplanted organ, known as antigens, triggering an immune response that kills the transplanted tissue.

Winston, who is currently fronting a BBC campaign to increase organ donors in the UK, is developing a technique to alter pigs’ organs genetically to trick the immune system into thinking they are human.

His group at Imperial College, London, will insert a short genetic sequence into the DNA of male pigs that will see them produce offspring without antigens on their organs.

He said: “One of the main problems with using pig organs for transplantation is the antigen receptor response in the human body.

“We are going to insert a harmless gene sequence into the sperm of a pig that removes these surface antigens from the pigs’ kidney or heart, producing an animal that has organs that can be used for transplantation.”

Pigs are considered to be the best candidates to supply organs to humans because they have the closest physiology.

Winston said: “If successful this work will be quite a long time emerging. If we achieve transgenic pigs by the method, we then have to prove that the gene construct we consider will help prevent rejection, is effective.

“There would then be a series of experiments to refine the gene construct. I can’t see this being useful for another five, maybe, 10 years.”

Winston says the technique would be more humane than other methods of creating transgenic animals.

He said: “The beauty of our technique is that once you get the founder animal you can go on mating indefinitely.”

He also hit out at activists campaigning against animal research. Last month a guinea pig farm which bred animals used for scientific experiments was forced to close after years of intimidation from extremists.

Winston said: “Ninety per cent of people in this country eat animals as food and almost all of us wear them on our feet. I think using them as a source for organs to provide life for people is perfectly acceptable.”

But news of Wintson’s Home Office licence has alarmed some animal rights groups, who fear the research is exploiting animals for spare body parts.

John Robbins, from Animal Concern, said: “This is one animal rights issue where the animal welfare aspect comes secondary to the danger to humans.

“Work like this only bridges the human-animal divide and increases the chance of diseases crossing between species.

“For every successful genetically modified animal, there are hundreds born disfigured or die at birth, and that is what makes this research ethically questionable.”

A spokeswoman for the SSPCA added: “The topic of using animals for transplant organs is extremely emotive.

“We can understand concerns about specifically breeding animals for spare parts.”

Transplantation experts also warned using pigs to supply human organs might not be as simple as removing antigens from the organs’ surface.

John Forsythe, a consultant surgeon at the Renal Transplant Unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, said: “My experience has shown me that the immune system has ways of getting around the things we do to it.

“It has a built in redundancy that means it can flow around a problem rather like water round a stone used to dam a stream.

“Removing the antigens only deals with one problem, but it is a welcome area of research.

“One ethical problem may also be due to viruses in pigs that sit hidden in the genetics of pig cells.

“We don’t know what would happen when these are transplanted with an organ into a human population. There needs to be more work done on it.

“In the meantime it is essential that more people volunteer to donate their organs in the event of their death.”

Chris Rudge, medical director for UK Transplant, added: “There is a worldwide shortage of organs for transplant and any research indicating a possible viable alternative source is of considerable interest.

“There is still a lot of research work to be done before anyone knows whether this is likely to be successful in humans.”