VOA健康报道2024--US Research Farm Raises Pigs to Produce Organs for Humans

Scientists are raising pigs to produce human organs at a specialized¹ research farm in the American state of Virginia.

A medical company called Revivicor runs the farm in the rural community of Blacksburg. The area is surrounded by the Blue Ridge² Mountains. Workers at the farm follow intense measures in an effort to prevent infection and disease spread.

About 300 pigs of different ages live on the research farm. Some animals raised there have already provided the first genetically⁴ changed pig organs ever transplanted into humans.

Individuals working at the center must undergo a series of safeguards aimed at preventing infections in the organs grown for people.

Matthew VonEsch is an executive with United Therapeutics, the parent company of Revivicor. He told The Associated Press the research farm was designed with the goal of protecting the pigs "against contamination from the environment and from people."

David Ayares is the founder⁵ and chief scientific officer of Revivicor. He described the farmed pigs to the AP as "precious animals" because of their ability to help save human lives.

The research farm looks very different from a traditional animal farm. This is because of the strong security and cleanliness measures needed. It was built to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety requirements.

For example, pigs living at the farm only drink water that is highly filtered. All food also gets disinfected.

Revivicor's farm aims to produce human organs that can be used in scientific experiments or actual transplants.

There is currently a great need in the U.S. for organ transplants. Thousands of people are waiting for a donor⁶ organ. But experts say there will never be enough human donors⁷ to fill that need.

Using animal-grown organs for human transplants is one possible way to deal with the shortage.

Scientists use genetic³ engineering methods to grow organs in animals. These organs behave more like human ones than animal ones, which reduces the chances that the body will reject the animal organs. Teams have been working for many years to grow more humanlike organs in pigs.

So far in the United States, four "compassionate⁹ use" transplants have happened. These cases involved last-minute experiments to transplant pig organs into humans who faced life-threatening conditions. Two transplants involved hearts and two involved kidneys. Revivicor provided both of the hearts and one of the kidneys.

All four patients died within a few months. Still, experts say each transplant offered the possibility for valuable, real-life research. The goal is to one day attempt to put pig organs into human transplant patients who are not quite as sick.

Revivicor's Ayares said the company is aiming to produce organs in the pigs that closely meet the size and needs of each patient. The idea is that such organs will perform better than human-donated organs because they are younger and free of disease.

Ayares added that transplant doctors who have received organs from Revivicor's farm say, "Oh my god, that's the most beautiful kidney I've ever seen." He said the reaction is the same when they get "a pink healthy happy heart from a young animal."

Officials at Revivicor say the biggest difficulties they face include overcoming the rejection¹⁰ of pig organs in humans and preventing animals from carrying unknown infection risks. Scientists try to deal with the rejection issue by employing different engineering methods to make the pig organs as humanlike as possible.

Genetic changes are made to the pig eggs that Revivicor receives. The engineered eggs are then nurtured¹² in the lab with the hope of producing a healthy embryo¹³. The embryos¹⁴ are then taken to the research farm to be put inside living pigs.

It is expected to take years of experimentation¹⁵ to prove whether animal organ transplants will work long-term in human patients. But if the efforts succeed, United Therapeutics plans to open additional research farms to produce up to 2,000 organs a year.

Ayares said the efforts are currently at a point where several studies have suggested "there's no immediate¹⁶ rejection" of the genetically engineered pig organs. He added, "The next two or three years are going to be super exciting."

Words in This Story

transplant - v. to perform a medical operation in which an organ or other part that has been removed from the body of one person is put into the body of another person

contaminate - n. to make something dirty or poisonous

precious - adj. very important or valuable

filter - v. to pass a liquid or gas through a piece of equipment in order to remove solid pieces or other substances

compassionate - adj. showing compassion⁸: a feeling of sympathy for others who are suffering

nurture¹¹ - v. to care for or encourage the growth of something

1 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

2 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

3 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

4 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

7 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

10 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

11 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

12 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。

13 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

14 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

15 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

16 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。