Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Belden Norman Namah said on Thursday that he has not and will never incite any protest marches during this COVID-19 Pandemic but said he is not surprised that such moves are afoot. Speaking from his Vanimo Green River electorate, Mr Namah said: "There is no need for me or anybody else to incite the public to protest." "Prime Minister James Marape is doing enough inciting on his own with his confusing policy signals, his mismanagement and his draconian orders." "Marape has announced that vaccination is not compulsory but then he came out supporting a 'NO JAB, NO JOB' work place practice of the private sector." "Now the entire public sector is promoting 'NO JAB, NO JOB', making it government policy by default." "NO JAB, NO JOB' has increased the number of the unemployed adding to the 3,600 Porgera Gold Mine workers out of work when Marape closed the mine and the 7,000 forestry workers unemployed when Marape increased log export taxes from 35 percent to 59 percent and the many thousands who could have been employed at the construction phase of Papua LNG if it had not been delayed by Mr Marape as well as the delayed start up of the Wafi Golpu Mine. "And now more than 1000 mine workers and employees in Lihir Gold Mine have tendered in their resignations because of this so-called 'NO JAB, NO JOB' work place safety. 'There are no political interests behind the protests." "You are seeing people react to a situation where their rights and freedoms are being taken away and thrashed." "l have said this on the floor of Parliament and I say it again. Our *FREEDOMS* are God given at birth and must be respected. The Right of FREEDOM is an UNQUALIFIED Right at birth. Hence, the Right to FREEDOM of Choice is also an UNQUALIFIED Right. "Therefore, nobody be it governments or corporations can take that away from us. We have the freedom and liberty to choose. "People are protesting the removal of that basic right to choose. This is not like the polio or measles vaccines where you get one jab that covers you for life." "The COVID-19 vaccine does not fully protect you or stop you transmitting the virus to others. It requires a second booster shot. ln countries like Denmark, England and lsrael where government has lifted all restrictions infection is spiking, especially among those fully vaccinated, pacing the way for third booster shots. Where does the booster jabs stop? "Our people must have a choice to choose whether or not to be vaccinated. That choice is a God given freedom that must be respected." "Right now the government is gambling our people's rights and freedoms. It is allowing companies to attract people to vaccinate by offering rewards and prices." "Government is allowing coercion of workers by allowing 'NO JAB, NO JOB'." "There is an added element that the government does not seem to realise. The protests are also signs of a build up of frustration by a desperate population who are hungry and without means of support. They cannot get assistance from a government which has grown remote, uncaring and wasteful." "lf the Prime Minister, his COVID-19 Pandemic Control Team, his Cabinet of Ministers, and his band of 'yesah masta' followers think the protests coming from the population are politically orchestrated, then they are so far removed from the realities faced by our people." "They are so far removed from the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the impact of their own confused policies and mismanagement upon the lives of our people. They are blind to the fact that they are removing our people's freedoms and allowing private interests to make money the expense of our people's freedoms." "l am warning them as I have been right from the beginning: COVID-19 which has taken less than 400 lives that we have counted so far will be nothing when a hungry and frustrated population turn to panic. "There is absolutely no capacity to contain a panic once it starts. It will become national in scope. The damage toll of such a calamity cannot be imagined and yet all the red flags are up for it to happen. "The government has got to come up with humanitarian relieve for our people and businesses with about the same urgency as it is in trying to roll-out COVID-19 vaccinations." "It has to stop copying the policies and measures of other countries and develop our own which is suited to our socio-economic and demographic features. "The government needs to buy sago from rural Sepik, kaukau from the rural highlands, yam from the Trobriands lsland and taro from rural Morobe and ship them to urban centres throughout PNG. This will distribute COVID-19 funds fairly and widely and alleviate starvation. lt will create business and excitement. lt will tell us if this nation is self sufficient in terms of food security. "Finally and needless to repeat, James Marape has to stop the blame game that is now such a prominent feature of his administration. "He is still blaming the O'Neill government that he was the principle economic minister of for PNG's economic woes two and a half years after he has taken over. What has he done in that time? "He is now looking for scapegoats to blame for mismanaging the biggest health emergency in this country. "The people of this country know what is going on. They are not stupid. They have a confused government which is mismanaging scarce resources, putting them out of jobs and taking a no-care and police-state strong-arm attitude."

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”) has received a Clearance Application from Telstra Corporation Limited (“Telstra”) seeking approval for the proposed acquisition of Digicel (PNG) Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in PNG. ICCC Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Paulus Ain said the ICCC received the Clearance Application from Telstra on the 29th October, 2021 pursuant to section 81 of the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission Act. Telstra is seeking approval from the ICCC for the proposed acquisition of Digicel (PNG) Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in PNG, together referred to as Digicel PNG. “The Proposed Acquisition of Digicel PNG is part of the proposed acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of Digicel Pacific Limited from Digicel Group Holdings Limited by Telstra.” Mr. Ain said. The subsidiaries of Digicel (PNG) Limited are: Digicel (PNG) Financial Services Limited; Hitron Limited; and Site & Towers (PNG) Limited. Mr. Ain said the assessment and determination of this application will be through the ICCC’s usual independent and transparent process. It is therefore important that key stakeholders are asked to participate in this assessment process. Mr. Ain added that the ICCC is inviting persons who may have an interest in the Proposed Acquisition, stakeholders in the telecommunications industry and the general public to provide comments and make submissions on the likely competition effects this proposed acquisition may have on the Information and Communications Technology services in PNG; and how that will impact other businesses, consumers, and the economy as whole. “All submissions will be disclosed to the public except where information is designated “confidential” by the submitter. For confidential submissions and information, we ask that they be made clearly identifiable as such and reason(s) provided as to why that particular information should not be disclosed to the public.” All comments and submissions should reach the ICCC by 15th November, 2021. All queries relating to this matter should be directed to Mr. Steven Sugl, Executive Manager, Competitive Markets & Fair-Trade Division on telephone 312 4600 or e-mail to: ssugl@iccc.gov.pg .

Fr Peter Kim (SVD), the spiritual director of three parishes in Kundiawa Diocese located in the outback of Gumine takes his long leave this week. Fr Kim, a missionary from the Divine Word Society (SVD) has served Dirima, Yuri and Nondri for close to six years, and has served for 19 years in PNG as a priest. Based in Dirima as his main station, which is 34 kilometers south of Kundiawa, his administration covers Yuri which is about six kilometers on beaten road to the west, and rugged Nondri covering eight kilometers on foot to the south. The total Catholic population in the three parishes is about 20,000. Fr Peter Kim said he is taking his one year leave to spend intimate moments with his 85-year-old father who has been sick, and also to spend some quality time with the rest of his family members and friends. He leaves Dirima on Sunday (7th Nov) and leaves PNG shores on Wednesday 10th November. The 54-year-old priest will be with his family in his hometown Seoul, the capital of South Korea. He is a senior SVD priest and serves as SVD district superior for Goroka and Simbu. Head catechist of Dirima parish James Bin on behalf of 18 catechists in the three parishes wished Fr Peter Kim a safe travelling journey and safe stay in South Korea. Mr James Bin assured Fr Kim of their prayer for God's continuing blessings to the Kim family during this time. Mr Bin said the catechists and the Christians have learnt a lot from the exemplary life and steadfast spiritual leadership Fr Kim provided in the administration of the sacraments. The parish pastoral council including the leaders of all devotional groups and community leaders also said their well wishes. Fr Peter Kim also highlighted on the 2021 action plans for the parish that were not implemented due to the impact of Covid-19. He urged the catechists and parish board to activate the action plan in 2022 when the Covid-19 pandemic slows down and work closely with the care-taker priest that is assigned. Fr Kim said that in his last meeting with over 20 catechists and members of the parish board last Friday. Fr Kim is also known for is community work which included the building of a labor ward in Dirima, installation of tufa tanks for clean drinking water in the outstations, and providing steadfast leadership in the fight against the prevention and transmission of Covid-19 in Dirima that has a population of over 15,0000 people. Last Friday as well, Fr Kim distributed face masks he received from his friends in South Korea to his catechists for their Christian community in their respective outstations.

PNG Ports Corporation has paid about K126m to the State over the last 18 months. PNG Ports Managing Director Fego Kiniafa said this payment includes the taxes for 2019 to 2021, and dividend payments for the 2019-2020 fiscal years. He said these payments were made since the declaration of the pandemic in March 2020 to assist the economy in dealing with the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic. The K126 million consists of K43.9 million in taxes for 2019 and 2020, K21 million dividend for 2019, K20.9 million dividend for 2020 and K40 million in taxes for 2021. “This amount excludes all other taxes for income, goods and services, and others.” "We have been hard hit by the pandemic because we are a demand-derived business and depend on the global market trends.” However, PNG Ports has chosen to be prudent and strategic in our management of business which has enabled us to at least pay something back to the government,” Mr Kiniafa said.

The Goroka Soccer Association (GSA) in Eastern Highlands Province has called off its 2021 season proper following the prolonged delay in the resumption of the competition. GSA President Richard Niningi said the season proper started in June and was into its’ second round when the venue was scheduled for the Goroka Show which was later disrupted. The venue at National Sports Institute was later used for COVID 19 isolation and with the surging COVID 19 situation in the province, the competition was completely grounded. Niningi said the situation is beyond their control therefore the sensible thing to do was for them to call off the season. He further urged the competition member teams to practise the new normal and keep safe during this time. Image supplied

Police Commissioner and Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response, David Manning, has endorsed the Eastern Highlands Province Police Reservist program to beef up police manpower to address COVID-19 and policing challenges in the province. Commissioner Manning when signing the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Eastern Highland Governor Peter Numu on Thursday this week highlighted that Police Reservists have been a great asset to the Constabulary in the early days however, it was discontinued due to the lack of proper command and control. “With the current COVID-19 crisis coupled with the ongoing law and order situation across the country,we have agreed to revive the Police Reservist program in partnership with provincial governments and other statutory bodies under the revised policies and command structure. “I want to commend Governor Numu and his administration for the initiative and the commitment to partner with the Constabulary in reviving the police reservist program in their province. This is a win-win approach for the Constabulary and the Province in addressing the current COVID-19 crisis and law and order issues going forward,” Manning said. Mr Manning further said that the Eastern Highland Province is among the few provinces that have come on board and are currently running similar programs in their respective provinces. Mr Manning said the Constabulary has set the target to recruit 1,100 Police reservist personnel before the 2022 national general election. Eastern Highland Governor Peter Numu thanked the Commissioner for the endorsement and his vision to revive the reservist program to address lack of police manpower in the provinces. Governor Numu also announced that the Eastern Highlands Police Reservist program will commence with the first 220 successful applicants to undertake reservist training. “Under my administration we are ready to run this program and the first batch of 220 successful applicants will go into training immediately. We need more police manpower to assist us with the COVID-19 operations and general policing thus we have taken such drastic action. This is the biggest reservist recruitment compared to other provinces and my administration will continue to sustain this program,” Governor Numu concluded.

The Minister for Health and HIV/Aids, Hon. Jelta Wong, MP, has warned people going around threatening and attempting to intimidate health workers will be arrested and face the full force of the law. The Minister made the comments after reports of mainly unemployed youths harassing health workers and throwing stones at COVID-19 vaccination stations. In the face of the attempted intimidation and related failed attempts at unruly protests, the Minister called on the Opposition to stop sitting on the fence and make a public declaration to condemn anti-vaccination troublemakers. “Respect must be shown for our health staff and they should not be harassed in their places of work where they are administering vaccines,” Minister Wong stated after receiving reports of agitation. “I am issuing a very stern and direct notice to these thugs that police have zero tolerance for anyone who threatens or intimidates health workers. “Offenders will be arrested and prosecuted under existing laws, and under the National Pandemic Act, that will see them face time in prison. “Throughout the country police have increased patrols around vaccination sites and have a quick response if there are any reports of harassment. “Let me make it clear to anyone thinking of intimidating our health workers, that you will be picked up and locked up. “It is only a very sick and selfish individual who would harass heath workers who are working day-in and day-out to save lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Minister Wong said some of the harassment of health workers stemmed from recent attempts to protest by people who are often not aware of the issues such as the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. “We have seen that a number of these people running around spreading lies and complaining about vaccines who have no idea what they are complaining about. “Firstly, vaccination is not compulsory, it is the free choice of every adult to decide if they wish to get vaccinated for the safety of our country. “To anyone trying to stir up trouble about vaccines, I urge them to go and get accurate information from health authorities and make an informed decision.  There is a lot of fake news circulating, and our people need to be on the lookout for people who will try to mislead them. “More than five million people around the world have died from COVID-19, and the best way any of us can avoid becoming a COVID death is to vaccinate.” Minister Wong called for a bipartisan approach on vaccinations which means the Opposition has to make their position clear instead of trying to hide from the issues. “I call on the Opposition to get behind our government’s strong stand when it comes to protecting workers from COVID-19. “There is no room for sitting on the fence like the Opposition has been doing since we began providing vaccines in our country. “So instead of trying to avoid the main issues, the Opposition must declare where they stand in relation to many issues relating to vaccinations, including the recent trouble being stirred up that is based on misinformation. “There should be no politics when it comes to keeping our people safe, and now the Opposition has the chance to try and be honest with our people instead of hiding from the issues that matter.”

The Ministry of Education is very concerned and notes the recent surge in covid-19 cases across the country and, especially affecting schools and the education services. “Whilst we take note of the surge and the actions that are being taken by schools and provinces during the examinations period, as Minister for Education, I would like to thank everyone for their actions taken to ensure that the examinations were completed without any major incidences and, currently the marking is in progress,” Minister for Education Hon. Jimmy Uguro said. “As Minister responsible for Education, I commend schools for the timely completion of grade eight, grade 10 and grade 12 examinations.” “Also, I would like to make it very clear as to whether classes are to continue or be suspended. There are a lot of speculations and suggestions for classes to be suspended and closed indefinitely until the end of the year. “The official position of the Minister who is responsible for education standards, services and curriculum and the position of the Government; there will be no definite or indefinite suspension of classes by any schools or provinces. Schools will remain open until the December 10, 2021 when all schools officially close for the Christmas festive season. However, Minister Uguro said, given specific situations in specific schools or districts or provinces; the established provincial covid-19 taskforce or committees can make an assessment to suspend schools in their respective areas for a short period for up to 14 days. He added that any extension after 14 days; the provincial covid-19 committees must consult with the Ministry through the Department. “There should be no decision by any provincial education authority for any suspension of schools for the rest of the year, until and unless the Ministry and Department is informed and an approval is given. Failure to do that will result in students’ learning and certification being affected; furthermore, there will be more ramifications as a result.” “As of today, the academic year still remains. We have five more weeks to go so we urge all heads of schools, school boards and heads of divisions of education to be vigilant and take all proactive measures and follow the mitigations and health measures that are in place and are being published widely to prevent teachers and students from being affected by the pandemic,” the Minister said. The Minister also called on all schools nationwide not to conduct any graduation ceremonies as such events are risky at this time and advised students to graduate in absentia. He is strongly urging every teacher and public servant in the Education System to go for vaccination. “The vaccinations are not mandatory and compulsory but based on medical advice and experience and the global practice now, we urge that every teacher go for vaccination to protect themselves, students, colleagues, and their family members.”

Queensland young gun Xavier Coates has revealed why he left the Broncos to play under Craig Bellamy at the Storm. Brisbane were desperate to keep Coates, who is still only 20 but has already played five games for the Maroons. But Bellamy went after the winger and got his man for the next two seasons, who will replace Bulldogs-bound flyer Josh Addo-Carr. Coates has played three seasons in the NRL and scored 17 tries in 32 games for Brisbane. “It’s pretty surreal – I’m real happy with the decision I’ve made,” Coates said. “I had a few chats with Craig and I feel like what he told me was the pinpoint of why I came down here. “I think the first thing when you think about the Storm is how good the people are here, particularly the staff and players, and one of the first things he told me was you won’t fit in down here if you’re not a good person. “If you surround with the people you want to be like, they will improve you. That was my first step to leading to making my decision with the Storm, and also looking at how tough they train. “I think that’s a big key on why they are so good, because everyone understands how tough they train and everyone talks about the real hard pre-seasons. “I’m sort of just bracing for it and it will get harder and harder, but I am really looking forward to the challenge.”

THE scheduled commissioning of the Oxygen Plant at the Port Moresby General Hospital that was due to take place on Tuesday, 2 November, 2021, has been deferred to a later date, says acting Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kone Sobi. Two consultants from the plant manufacturer, Oxywise, were brought in to check and conduct tests to ensure everything was in order before the commissioning and handing over of the project to Port Moresby General Hospital. “During the testing process, a technical problem was identified. Engineers are working around the clock to resolve this issue and continue with the testing process,” said Dr. Sobi. “Once the testing, which is part of the whole process of installation and checks compliance is successfully completed, we will update on the actual commissioning date,” he added. [caption id="attachment_16572" align="aligncenter" width="648"] Biomedical engineer Tracey Mandawali and senior technical officer Bobby Hekwa from the PMGH Biomedical Department doing a bubble test to ensure there were no gas leakages as Future Focus Solutions projects manager Sopheap Phin looked on.[/caption]

Girls and boys must be introduced to STEM from a young age to encourage them to pursue a career in medicine, science or engineering. Buk bilong Pikinini’s (BbP)Early Childhood Education program provides the children with foundations in numeracy, problem solving and various play-based STEM activities throughout the year. However, more needs to be done to foster future careers in ICT. With the launch of “When I grow up – I want to be an ICT Officer” BbP believes that the reader will assist with motivating school children to demystify the different jobs and skills needed in the field. [caption id="attachment_16561" align="aligncenter" width="595"] The Buk bilong Pikinini children and Ruth Nelson, NICTA Fund Manager.[/caption] This week 6-year-old Melanie, featured in the reader - and other BbP children got the opportunity to visit the NICTA Head Office together with David Valentine, the CEO of Niunet and IT Officer from BbP Philip Luke and Ridhard Bridger. The children got to see IT equipment and asked questions about how it all works. BbP Executive Officer Leanne Resson presented David Valentine and NICTA with copies of the reader, which they can use in their work to promote the interest in ITC with young children. David Valentine is featured as a role model in the reader and gently guides Melanie into what the requirements are when you would like to work in ICT. BbP has published a series of books entitled “When I Grow up – I want to be a Teacher, - Pilot, - Store Manager, -Paramedic, - ICT Officer and - Farmer. [caption id="attachment_16562" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Ruth Nelson being presented with Buk bilong Pikinini book "When I grow up I want to be an ICT Officer '' by Leanne Resson, Buk bilong Pikinini Executive officer, and young Melanie.[/caption] These new books were first launched during Book Week together with the Sir Brian Bell Foundation which has sponsored the printing and shipping of the readers. Leanne Resson, BbP Executive Officer said: “We are grateful to our partners Niunet and NICTA for their support to provide the children with vital insight into the world of ICT. We are confident that the readers will inspire the children to want to pursue careers in this field. By seeing role models in action, the children will be able to understand that they too can aim for such careers despite coming from a remote village or urban settlement. We also hope that this reader will allow more girls to see themselves in an IT role in the future. If you can’t see it – you can’t be it..” [caption id="attachment_16564" align="aligncenter" width="616"] David Valentine, CEO/CTO of Niunet PNG Limited being presented with the Buk bilong Pikinini Book "When I grow up I want to be an ICT Officer" by young Melanie.[/caption] David Valentine, CEO Nuinet said: “It really is an honor to launch the Buk Bilong Pikinini "When I Grow Up" ICT officer series reader with NICTA, the government mandated body that deals with ICT in our country. This reader will encourage the next generation of systems, network and cybersecurity engineers to take up ICT at an early age, increasing their chances of building successful careers. Building better partnerships is how we inspire our younger Papua New Guineans to explore careers in ICT. Ruth Nelson, NICTA Fund Manager said: “NICTA through the Universal Access Services (UAS) Regime is passionate about rolling out ICT services to remote and unserved areas of PNG. We target schools and communities in rural areas so to see Book Belong Pikinini promote careers in ICT through books for young children is such a positive step forward for this country. In PNG, ICT Sector is still predominantly a male dominated career choice, to promote female participation, NICTA has a Girls in ICT Tertiary Scholarship Programme. We hope to see Melanie and a lot of other girls become recipients of this scholarship and go on to have successful careers in ICT.”

A kidney grown in a genetically altered pig functions normally, scientists reported. The procedure may open the door to a renewable source of desperately needed organs. Surgeons in New York have successfully attached a kidney grown in a genetically altered pig to a human patient and found that the organ worked normally, a scientific breakthrough that one day may yield a vast new supply of organs for severely ill patients. Researchers have long sought to grow organs in pigs that are suitable for transplantation into humans. Technologies like cloning and genetic engineering have brought that vision closer to reality in recent years, but testing these experimental organs in humans has presented daunting ethical questions. [caption id="attachment_16555" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Dr. Robert Montgomery is director of the N.Y.U. Langone Transplant Institute in Manhattan. Genetically engineered pigs “could potentially be a sustainable, renewable source of organs,” he said.Credit...Amir Hamja for The New York Times[/caption] So surgeons at N.Y.U. Langone Health took an astonishing step: With the family’s consent, they attached the pig’s kidney to a brain-dead patient who was sustained on a ventilator, and then followed the body’s response while taking measures of the kidney’s function. It is the first operation of its kind. The researchers tracked the results for just 54 hours, and many questions remained to be answered about the long-term consequences of such an operation. The procedure will not be available to patients any time soon, as there are significant medical and regulatory hurdles to overcome. Still, experts in the field hailed the surgery as a milestone. “This is a huge breakthrough,” said Dr. Dorry Segev, a professor of transplant surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who was not involved in the research. “It’s a big, big deal.” A steady supply of organs from pigs — which could eventually include hearts, lungs and livers — would offer a lifeline to the more than 100,000 Americans currently on transplant waiting lists, including the 90,240 who need a kidney. Twelve people on the waiting lists die each day. An even larger number of Americans with kidney failure — more than a half million — depend on grueling dialysis treatments to survive. In large part because of the scarcity of human organs, the vast majority of dialysis patients do not qualify for transplants, which are reserved for those most likely to thrive after the procedure. The surgery was first reported by USA Today on Tuesday. The research has not yet been peer-reviewed nor published in a medical journal. The transplanted kidney was obtained from a pig genetically engineered to grow an organ unlikely to be rejected by the human body. In a close approximation of an actual transplant procedure, the kidney was attached to blood vessels in the patient’s upper leg, outside the abdomen. The organ started functioning normally, making urine and the waste product creatinine “almost immediately,” according to Dr. Robert Montgomery, the director of the N.Y.U. Langone Transplant Institute, who performed the procedure in September. Although the kidney was not implanted in the body, problems with so-called xenotransplants — from animals like primates and pigs — usually occur at the interface of the blood supply and the organ, where human blood flows through pig vessels, experts said. The fact that the organ functioned outside the body is a strong indication that it will work in the body, Dr. Montgomery said. “It was better than I think we even expected,” he said. “It just looked like any transplant I’ve ever done from a living donor. A lot of kidneys from deceased people don’t work right away, and take days or weeks to start. This worked immediately.” Last year, 39,717 residents of the United States received an organ transplant, the majority of them — 23,401 — receiving kidneys, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, a nonprofit that coordinates the nation’s organ procurement efforts. Genetically engineered pigs “could potentially be a sustainable, renewable source of organs — the solar and wind of organ availability,” Dr. Montgomery said. The prospect of raising pigs to harvest their organs for humans is bound to raise questions about animal welfare and exploitation, though an estimated 100 million pigs already are killed in the United States each year for food. “Pigs aren’t spare parts and should never be used as such just because humans are too self-centered to donate their bodies to patients desperate for organ transplants,” said a statement from the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA. Among transplantation experts, reactions ranged from cautiously optimistic to ebullient, though all acknowledged the procedure represented a sea change. While some surgeons speculated that it could be just months before genetically engineered pigs’ kidneys are transplanted into living human beings, others said there was still much work to be done. “This is really cutting-edge translational surgery and transplantation that is on the brink of being able to do it in living human beings,” said Dr. Amy Friedman, a former transplant surgeon and chief medical officer of LiveOnNY, the organ procurement organization in the greater New York area. The group was involved in the selection and identification of the brain-dead patient receiving the experimental procedure. The patient was a registered organ donor, and because the organs were not suitable for transplantation, the patient’s family agreed to permit research to test the experimental transplant procedure. Dr. Friedman said she envisioned using hearts, livers and other organs grown in pigs, as well. “It’s truly mind-boggling to think of how many transplants we might be able to offer,” she said, adding, “You’d have to breed the pigs, of course.” Other experts were more reserved, saying they wanted to see whether the results were reproducible and to review data collected by N.Y.U. Langone. “There’s no question this is a tour de force, in that it’s hard to do and you have to jump through a lot of hoops,” said Dr. Jay A. Fishman, associate director of the transplantation center at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Whether this particular study advances the field will depend on what data they collected and whether they share it, or whether it is a step just to show they can do it,” Dr. Fishman said. He urged humility “about what we know.” Many hurdles remain before genetically engineered pigs’ organs can be used in living human beings, said Dr. David Klassen, chief medical officer of the United Network for Organ Sharing. While he called the surgery “a watershed moment,” he warned that long-term rejection of organs occurs even when the donor kidney is well-matched, and “even when you’re not trying to cross species barriers.” The kidney has functions in addition to clearing blood of toxins. And there are concerns about pig viruses infecting recipients, Dr. Klassen said: “It’s a complicated field, and to imagine that we know all of the things that are going to happen and all the problems that will arise is naïve.” Xenotransplantation, the process of grafting or transplanting organs or tissues between different species, has a long history. Efforts to use the blood and skin of animals in humans go back hundreds of years. In the 1960s, chimpanzee kidneys were transplanted into a small number of human patients. Most died shortly afterward; the longest a patient lived was nine months. In 1983, a baboon heart was transplanted into an infant girl known as Baby Faye. She died 20 days later. Pigs offered advantages over primates for organ procurement — they are easier to raise, reach maturation faster, and achieve adult human size in six months. Pig heart valves are routinely transplanted into humans, and some patients with diabetes have received pig pancreas cells. Pig skin has also been used as temporary grafts for burn patients. The combination of two new technologies — gene editing and cloning — has yielded genetically altered pig organs. Pig hearts and kidneys have been transplanted successfully into monkeys and baboons, but safety concerns precluded their use in humans. “The field up to now has been stuck in the preclinical primate stage, because going from primate to living human is perceived as a big jump,” Dr. Montgomery said. The kidney used in the new procedure was obtained by knocking out a pig gene that encodes a sugar molecule that elicits an aggressive human rejection response. The pig was genetically engineered by Revivicor and approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a source for human therapeutics. Dr. Montgomery and his team also transplanted the pig’s thymus, a gland that is involved in the immune system, in an effort to ward off immune reactions to the kidney. After attaching the kidney to blood vessels in the upper leg, the surgeons covered it with a protective shield so they could observe it and take tissue samples over the 54-hour study period. Urine and creatinine levels were normal, Dr. Montgomery and his colleagues found, and no signs of rejection were detected during more than two days of observation. “There didn’t seem to be any kind of incompatibility between the pig kidney and the human that would make it not work,” Dr. Montgomery said. “There wasn’t immediate rejection of the kidney.” The long-term prospects are still unknown, he acknowledged. But “this allowed us to answer a really important question: Is there something that’s going to happen when we move this from a primate to a human that is going to be disastrous?” SOURCE: NEW YORK TIMES