>> IT WAS DECOMMISSIONED IN 1974 ASK OPENED A MUSEUM IN 1982.
>>> A GROUND BREAK PROCEDURE IS
HAPPENING HERE IN NEW YORK.
IT’S CALLED A BIG LEAP FORWARD
IN ORGAN TRANSPLANTS.
DOCTORS SAY THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TRANSPLANT A GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED PIG KIDNEY INTO A
HUMAN AND IT’S WORKED FOR MORE
THAN A MONTH SO FAR. HERE’S DETAILS.
>> Reporter: WHEN 57-YEAR-OLD MAURICE MILLER DIED SUDDENLY
FROM AN UNDIAGNOSED BRAIN TUMOR,
HIS SISTER WAS MET WITH AN
UNEXPECTED CHOICE.
>> IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT
DECISION.
>> Reporter: MARY SHIRTING HER BROTHER’S STORY ALONGSIDE
DOCTORS, MAURICE WAS BRAIN DEAD.
BUT WITH HIS HEART AND OTHER
ORGANS STILL FUNCTIONING THROUGH
A VENTILATOR, HE WAS AN IDEAL
CANDIDATE FOR GROUND BREAKING STUDY, TRANSPLANTING A KIDNEY
FROM A PIG INTO A HUMAN BODY.
>> KNOWING THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT HE WAS OR HE IS, IT MADE IT
A LITTLE EASIER WHEN THEY
APPROACHED ME. >> Reporter: THIS STUDY IS GOING
TO BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
CONTRIBUTIONS.
>> Reporter: DR. MONTGOMERY
SHARING PROMISING RESULTS.
THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME DOCTORS
AT NYU HAVE PERFORMED WHAT’S
CALLED A SEETHE KNOW TRANSPLANT.
THE TRIALS HAVE ONLY LASTED A
FEW DAYS, BUT ENTER MAURICE AND
THE SURGERY CONDUCTED MORE THAN A MONTH AGO.
THIS IS THE LONGEST PERIOD THAT
A PIG KIDNEY HAS FUNCTIONED IN A HUMAN.
DOCTORS WILL CONTINUE TO STUDY
THE RESULTS FOR ANOTHER MONTH.
>> THE PIG KIDNEY APPEARS TO REPLASCE ALL OF THE IMPORTANT
TASKS THAT THE HUMAN KIDNEY
MANAGES.
>> THE PIGS USED ARE BRED TO
MATCH MORE CLOSELY TO HUMANS.
DOCTORS HOPE IT’S A STEP TOWARD
CONDUCTING TRIALS IN LIVING
PEOPLE, CREATING SUSTAINABLE
SUPPLY OF ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANT, A RELIEF TO THE TENS OF
THOUSANDS WHO ARE FORCED TO TAKE
THEIR CHANCES ON A WAITING LIST.
>> MY YOUNGEST BROTHER PASS EDED AWAY 15 MONTHS AFTER HAD HE WAS
BORN OF KIDNEY DISEASE. >> Reporter: FOR MARY AND HER
FAMILY, THE IDEA OF FURTHERING
RESEARCH AROUND KIDNEY FUNCTION
HITS HOME, AND NOW THROUGH HIS
DEATH, HE OFFERS A GIFT TO HUMANITY.
>> IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT HIS
FINAL ACT HE WILL BE HELPING SO MANY IN THE NEED THROUGH THIS