Researchers at Mass General Brigham hospital reported that a genetically modified pig kidney successfully functioned in a human recipient for 271 days before being removed, marking the longest known duration for such a transplant. The patient, Tim Andrews, received the xenotransplant on January 25, 2025, and described the procedure as providing hope during a period when he faced an estimated seven-year wait for a conventional human kidney transplant. Andrews had end-stage kidney disease resulting from type 2 diabetes and was 66 years old at the time of the procedure.
The transplanted organ began functioning immediately and allowed Andrews to avoid dialysis treatments during the months it remained viable. After the pig kidney was removed in October that year, Andrews required 82 days of dialysis before receiving a human donor kidney in January of this year, which has continued to perform well. The findings were published in the Lancet medical journal and demonstrate the potential for xenotransplantation as an interim solution for patients awaiting human organ availability.
The pig kidney used in the procedure came from a Yucatan miniature pig that had undergone 69 genomic modifications designed to prevent immune rejection. These modifications removed pig cell features that trigger immune responses, introduced human DNA to camouflage the organ, and disabled viruses present in pig DNA to prevent infection. Early signs of immune rejection were successfully managed through medication adjustments, though after approximately six months, blood vessel damage developed in the kidney, leading to inflammation and eventual failure.
The chronic organ shortage remains a critical challenge in transplantation medicine. In the United States, approximately 100,000 people await kidney transplants while only 25,000 procedures occur annually, with more than 7,000 patients on waiting lists in the UK. Medical teams view xenotransplantation using genetically modified pig organs as a promising avenue to address this crisis and potentially allow patients to bypass extended dialysis while awaiting human donor organs.
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