内容摘要：Still, demand for the trees has jumped due to interest from lemon growers — and since the

Still, demand for the trees has jumped due to interest from lemon growers — and since the

Mary Miller-Duffy speaks with Dr. Robert Montgomery in the NYU Langone Health medical center in New York on Aug. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)After decades of failed attempts, now pigs genetically modified so their organs are more humanlike are renewing interest in so-called xenotransplantation. Last year,

tried to save a dying man with a pig heart — and he survived for two months.Montgomery is getting more practice in the dead before taking a chance with a living patient. A handful of prior experiments at NYU and thehave kept pig kidneys and hearts working in donated bodies for a few days to a week, avoiding the immediate rejection that doomed many earlier attempts.

But the most common kind of organ rejection develops over a month. That pig heart in Maryland worked great for nearly 50 days until abruptly faltering. Watching how pig kidneys reach those timepoints in donated bodies could offer vital lessons — but how long could Montgomery expect a family to turn over their loved one?“I’m in awe of someone who can make a decision like that at, you know, one of the worst moments in their lives and really think about ... humanity,” he said.

In Newburgh, New York, an ambulance had raced Miller to the hospital after he collapsed, a mass in his brain. He never woke up from the biopsy, brain-dead at just 57. Next steps were up to his sister, his closest relative.

Miller-Duffy asked about donating his organs but he didn’t qualify. That biopsy had found cancer.Flipping through family photos, Miller-Duffy recalled how her brother would adopt animals and once took care of a terminally ill friend. Still, she had questions.

This family photo provided in August 2023 shows siblings Maurice “Mo” Miller, left, and Mary Miller-Duffy as children playing with their Christmas gifts. (Courtesy Mary Miller-Duffy via AP)This family photo provided in August 2023 shows siblings Maurice “Mo” Miller, left, and Mary Miller-Duffy as children playing with their Christmas gifts. (Courtesy Mary Miller-Duffy via AP)

In a video call, Montgomery explained the pig transplant to Miller-Duffy and her wife, Sue Duffy — and why it could make a difference. Montgomery’s compassion won them over.“His body is not being hurt, you know,” Duffy said. “It’s just an incubation for the study to be done.”