Farmers May Soon Produce Organs

Researchers are looking to the day when farm animals could provide organs to be transplanted into humans.

Scientists at the University of Missouri-Columbia hope to learn how to reprogram a pig’s genetic blueprint so that its organs would not be rejected by a human body. Such “transgenic” pigs can be bred in large numbers.

Scientists began work on transgenic pigs after receiving a $500,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Experiments have shown promise, but organ farming is still several years away, scientists say.