BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Some individuals who develop a peculiar and frightening allergy to red meat after being bitten by a lone star tick may still be able to consume pork from an unexpected source: Genetically modified pigs bred for organ transplant research.
Don’t expect to find it in supermarkets. The company that breeds these special pigs distributes its limited supply, free of charge, to allergy sufferers.
“We receive numerous orders,” stated David Ayares, the head of Revivicor Inc., as he revealed a freezer packed with packages of ground pork patties, ham, ribs, and pork chops.
The allergy, known as alpha-gal syndrome, is named after a sugar that is found in the tissues of almost all mammals—except humans and some of our primate relatives. It can trigger a severe reaction hours after consuming beef, pork, or other red meat, as well as certain mammalian products like milk or gelatin.
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But where does organ transplantation come into play? Due to the shortage of donated human organs, researchers are exploring the use of pig organs instead — and the same alpha-gal sugar poses a major obstacle. It triggers the human immune system to swiftly reject a transplanted organ from a conventional pig. Therefore, the first gene that Revivicor deactivated while genetically modifying pigs for animal-to-human transplants was the one responsible for producing alpha-gal.
Although xenotransplants are still experimental, Revivicor’s “GalSafe” pigs received FDA approval in 2020 for use as a food source and a potential source for human therapeutics. The FDA confirmed the absence of detectable levels of alpha-gal across multiple generations of the pigs.
Revivicor, a subsidiary of United Therapeutics, is not a food company — it specializes in xenotransplantation research. Additionally, it has yet to find any agricultural companies willing to sell GalSafe pork.
Revivicor’s GalSafe herd is located in Iowa, and to manage its population, some meat is periodically processed in a USDA-certified slaughterhouse. Revivicor then ships frozen packages to alpha-gal syndrome patients who have submitted applications for the pork.
