A kidney transplanted from a pig functioned successfully in a human body for 271 days, according to doctors in the United States. A BBC report says this is now the longest such transplant on record in a human recipient.
The patient, Tim Andrews, said the pig kidney transplant gave him “hope,” while also freeing him from months of having to go to the hospital for blood-cleansing dialysis treatment.
The medical team at Mass General Brigham hospital in the U.S. says their work demonstrates that pig organs could potentially be used as a “bridge” until a suitable human kidney becomes available for transplant.
Eventually, however, the pig kidney failed and had to be removed. Andrews then had to undergo dialysis for a short period until a new donor kidney became available.
Because of the shortage of organs for transplant, scientists and doctors are researching xenotransplantation — the transplanting of organs from other species into humans.
Around 100,000 people in the United States are currently waiting for a kidney transplant, while the country performs only about 25,000 kidney transplants a year. In the U.K., more than 7,000 people are on the kidney transplant waiting list.
Andrews was told it could take about seven years to reach the top of the transplant list. But the average life expectancy for someone on dialysis is only about five years.
“I didn’t quite have that much time… it was becoming very disheartening,” Andrews said. He described the prospect of a pig kidney transplant as “hope” and “light at the end of the tunnel.”
Kidney functioned for 271 days
Andrews’ kidney disease had reached its final stage due to Type 2 diabetes, and his kidney function was failing. He received the pig kidney transplant on Jan. 25, 2025, at age 66.
A detailed report recently published in the medical journal The Lancet said the kidney began functioning immediately after the transplant. It remained functional for a total of 271 days.
It was removed in October of that year. Andrews then had to undergo dialysis for 82 days. In January this year, he received a new kidney from a human donor. The new kidney is currently functioning well.
Dr. Leonardo Riella of Mass General Brigham’s Center for Transplantation Sciences said they are in a “crisis” due to the shortage of organs available for transplant.
“We’re working very hard to bring hope,” he said. “We truly believe xenotransplantation could be an option for patients who have no living donor. It could potentially allow patients to bypass dialysis and go straight to transplant.”