人体器官移植手术已经不是新鲜事儿了，但如果把猪心脏移植到人体呢？当地时间10日，美国马里兰大学医学中心发布消息：医学专家已为一名美国男性心脏病人成功进行了一项特殊的移植手术，将经基因改造的猪的心脏移植入其体内，属全球首例。
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A 57-year-old Maryland man is doing well three days after receiving a genetically modified pig heart in a first-of-its-kind transplant surgery, University of Maryland Medicine said in a news release Monday.
据马里兰大学医学中心介绍，现年57岁的戴维•贝内特是一位心脏病晚期患者。当时的情况已经不适合进行传统的心脏移植手术或人工心脏泵手术，而猪心脏“成了目前唯一的选择”。
The patient, David Bennett, had terminal heart disease, and the pig heart was "the only currently available option," according to the release. Bennett was deemed ineligible for a conventional heart transplant or an artificial heart pump after reviews of his medical records.
贝内特在手术前曾表示，“要么接受死亡，要么接受移植。我想要活下去，也知道这很冒险，但这是我最后的机会。”
"It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it's a shot in the dark, but it's my last choice," Bennett said before the surgery, according to the release.
去年的12月31日，美国食品药监局给这次手术做了紧急授权。
The US Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the surgery on December 31.
该中心的报告还显示，移植手术中使用的猪器官已经过基因改造，其中包括“敲除”会引起人类排异反应的3个基因，以及一个特定的基因以预防移植入人体的猪心脏组织过度成长。另外，还向猪染色体植入6种有助于人体接受异种器官的人类基因。
Three genes—responsible for rapid antibody-mediated rejection of pig organs by humans—were "knocked out" in the donor pig. One additional gene in the pig was knocked out to prevent excessive growth of the pig heart tissue. Six human genes responsible for immune acceptance were inserted.
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该中心表示，这项移植手术首次展示了一个经过基因改造的动物心脏移植入人体后，能像人的心脏一样发挥作用，并且身体不会马上对这个动物心脏产生排异反应。
This organ transplant demonstrated for the first time that a genetically-modified animal heart can function like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body.
手术医师巴特利•格里菲斯说：“这是一次突破性的手术，让我们距离解决器官短缺问题更近一步。比起受捐者而言，捐献的器官远远不足。”
"This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There are simply not enough donor human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients," said Bartley Griffith, who surgically transplanted the pig heart into the patient.
贝内特目前情况良好，他还将继续留观数日，才能判断出这个手术是否真的对挽救生命起到了作用。
Bennett, a Maryland resident, is being carefully monitored over the next days and weeks to determine whether the transplant provides lifesaving benefits, said the UMMC.
路透社等外媒纷纷报道这则有突破意义的手术，这类手术的第一次成功可能产生深远影响。
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不过也有媒体指出，类似手术可能存在伦理道德等方面的考量，比如在实际操作层面存在的排异风险、动物权利保护以及宗教信仰等问题。
The surgery is being hailed by many as a medical breakthrough that could shorten transplant waiting times and change the lives of patients around the world. But some are questioning if the procedure can be ethically justified.
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有的网友感叹科技进步，可以拯救更多的人
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还有的网友抖起了机灵……
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根据美国政府部门数据显示，现在大约有11万美国人在等待器官移植，而每年有超过6000人没有等到合适的移植器官就去世了。
About 110,000 Americans are currently waiting for an organ transplant, and more than 6,000 patients die each year before getting one, according to the U.S. government data.
为应对人体器官供应源短缺，医学研究人员长期致力于研究异种器官移植。猪的器官组织结构、生理功能和大小与人体器官相近，被视为异种器官移植最佳供体动物之一，先前一些移植手术就用到了猪的眼角膜、心脏瓣膜等。去年10月，美国一家医院把一个经过基因改造的猪肾移植给一名脑死亡患者，手术没有立即引起排异反应。术后3天，患者生命支持设备按预定日期去除。
据《中国科学报》报道，目前，器官移植已经被社会普遍接受，它是解决很多终末期器官功能衰竭问题非常有效的手段，使成千上万生命垂危的病人摆脱了死亡阴影，并得以延续生命。这台手术是现代再生医学和基因工程学的胜利，为异种器官移植带来曙光。此外，专家表示，手术最大的“门槛”是伦理学障碍，以及知情同意前提下的标准试验的寻找和征集。
综合来源：新华社，CNN，UMMS，中国科学报
