Chinese doctors have achieved a groundbreaking medical milestone by successfully transplanting a pig liver into a human for the first time. The procedure, performed on a brain-dead patient, offers hope for future life-saving organ donations.
Pigs have emerged as promising organ donors, with several patients in the U.S. already receiving pig kidneys or hearts. However, transplanting livers has proven more challenging. Researchers now aim to use gene-edited pig livers to help critically ill patients awaiting human donors.
Doctors at the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, China, conducted the historic surgery on March 10, 2024. They implanted a liver from a genetically modified miniature pig, which had six altered genes to improve compatibility. The procedure lasted ten days before doctors ended the trial at the family’s request, ensuring strict ethical guidelines were followed.
Unlike a full transplant, the patient’s original liver remained intact while the pig liver functioned as a “bridge organ.” This technique could support failing human livers until a suitable donor is found. Over ten days, the liver showed positive signs, including steady blood flow, bile secretion, and albumin production. Lin Wang, one of the lead researchers, described the results as a major achievement for liver transplant science.
Despite the success, scientists emphasize the need for further research. Pig livers perform multiple complex functions, making full transplantation more difficult than heart or kidney procedures. Researchers observed that the pig liver produced lower amounts of bile and albumin compared to human livers. They now plan to extend future trials beyond ten days and eventually test the transplant in a living patient.
Peter Friend, a transplantation expert at Oxford University, praised the study, calling it an impressive step. However, he noted that pig livers cannot yet replace human transplants. Instead, these genetically modified organs could temporarily support patients in liver failure.
China’s researchers have also collaborated with U.S. scientists, learning from previous studies. In 2024, American doctors attached a pig liver to a brain-dead patient, but the organ remained outside the body. While pig heart transplants have shown mixed results, a pig kidney recipient in Alabama, Towana Looney, continues to recover successfully.
As medical science pushes forward, gene-edited pig organs may offer a revolutionary solution to the global organ shortage. While challenges remain, this breakthrough brings new hope for patients awaiting life-saving transplants.