So far, things appear to be going well. Tests taken about six months following the procedure suggest that Sinnamon’s new thymus is working, producing new T-cells. His health is good otherwise, and he just recently celebrated his first birthday.
“If this approach proves successful—and further validation is contemplated—it would mean transplant recipients would not reject the donated organ and they would also not need to undergo treatment with long-term immune-suppression medications, which can be highly toxic, particularly to the kidneys,” said Joseph Turek, chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Duke and a member of Sinnamon’s surgical team, in a statement from the university.
The real test will likely come in a few months, when the doctors hope to start tapering Sinnamon off his current anti-rejection drugs. But if things continue to look good, it could prove to be a monumental leap forward for the organ transplant world. “This concept of tolerance has always been the holy grail in transplantation, and we are now on the doorstep,” Turek said.
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This isn’t the only novel way that doctors are trying to innovate organ transplantation as of late. Researchers across the U.S. have been experimenting with genetically engineered pig organs—so far, kidneys and hearts—made to be more compatible with humans, in hopes of expanding the constantly short supply of available organs.