Surgeons transplant genetically modified pig liver into Chinese patient | Organ appears to function for 10 days, raising prospect of short-term use for those on transplant list

From the article: A genetically modified pig liver that was transplanted into a brain-dead patient appeared to function successfully inside their body for 10 days, according to the scientists who performed the groundbreaking procedure.

The surgery, at a Chinese hospital last year, is thought to mark the first time a pig liver has been transplanted into a human. It raises the prospect of pig livers serving as a “bridging organ” for patients on the waiting list for a transplant or to support liver function while their own organ regenerates.

Prof Lin Wang, who led the trial at Xijing hospital in Xi’an said: “This is the first time we tried to unravel whether the pig liver could work well in the human body and … whether it could replace the original human liver in the future. It is our dream to make this achievement.”

The advance is the latest in a series of transplants involving pig organs since 2022. Surgeons in the US and China have transplanted pig hearts, kidneys and a thymus gland into a small number of patients. Several died within months, although their severe illness at the outset meant it was unclear whether the transplants were a factor. But others have made a good recovery and have left hospital.

The latest procedure was carried out in a 50-year-old man diagnosed with brain death after a severe head injury. The patient’s own liver was intact and, in a surgery that took more than 10 hours, the organ taken from a genetically modified Bama miniature pig was plumbed into his blood supply as an additional liver.