内容摘要：PIgs stand in pens at the Revivicor research farm near Blacksburg, Va., on May 29, 2024, where organs are retrieved for animal-to-human transplant experiments. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

PIgs stand in pens at the Revivicor research farm near Blacksburg, Va., on May 29, 2024, where organs are retrieved for animal-to-human transplant experiments. (AP Photo/Shelby Lum)

Sewing a pig kidney into a donated body isn’t much different than a regular transplant, Stern said. Post-surgery immune-suppressing drugs are standard, too.One twist: Tacked onto the pig’s kidney was its thymus, a gland that trains immune cells — and thus might help protect the organ.

Lots of extra steps come before and after surgery.First, what pig to use: Some have up to 10 genetic changes but Montgomery is betting one is enough — removal of a single porcine gene that triggers an immediate immune attack.While the pigs are housed in a germ-free facility, researchers performed extra testing for any hidden infection. Everyone in the operating room must have certain vaccinations and undergo blood tests of their own.

Surgery over, doctors wheeled Miller’s body into the same ICU room where five years earlier Montgomery had recovered from his heart transplant.Next came more intense testing than living patients could tolerate. Every week doctors biopsy the kidney, putting samples under the microscope to spot any hints of rejection. Blood is continually monitored, the spleen got a peek, and nurses keep close watch that the body is being properly maintained on the ventilator.

The first few weeks, Griesemer checked lab test results and vital signs multiple times a day: “You’re like, OK, hopefully things are still good — but is this the day it starts to turn?”

And they’re shipping biopsy samples to research partners across the country and as far away as France.CATANIA, Italy (AP) — Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at “breaking Israel’s siege” of the devastated territory, organizers said.

The sailing boat Madleen – operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition — departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy.It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise “international awareness” over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure.

“We are doing this because, no matter what odds we are against, we have to keep trying,” Thunberg said, bursting into tears during her speech.The Freedom Flotilla human rights organization Madleen boat is docked near Catania’s harbor, Italy, Sunday, June 1, 2025, ahead of its departure for the Mideast. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)