A hospital in China successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a human.
China Daily, a state-run media outlet, reported on Thursday that doctors at the Air Force Military Medical University’s Xijing Hospital in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, achieved a significant milestone in xenotransplantation. On March 6, the team transplanted a genetically edited pig kidney into a 69-year-old patient suffering from end-stage kidney disease.
The hospital’s safety assessment revealed promising results a week after the surgery. The transplanted pig kidney was functioning well within the patient’s body. As blood flow was restored, the kidney turned a healthy red color and began producing urine. The patient’s blood creatinine levels normalized by the third day after the surgery, and the kidney had fully stabilized by the sixth day.
Xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting animal organs into humans, offers hope in addressing the shortage of donor organs and potentially extending the lives of patients who must wait for long periods for a transplant. However, successful cases remain rare worldwide.
Only four cases of kidney xenotransplantation have been reported worldwide, all of which occurred in the United States.
In March of last year, a medical team at Massachusetts General Hospital performed the world’s first kidney xenotransplantation, transplanting a genetically modified pig kidney into a 62-year-old man with end-stage kidney disease. Tragically, the recipient passed away two months after the surgery.
This latest operation marks the fifth xenotransplantation globally and the first in Asia.
According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), as of September last year, 89,792 patients were waiting for kidney transplants in the United States. However, only 27,332 transplants were performed in 2023, highlighting the urgent need for alternative solutions.
Professor Dou Kefeng, who led the transplant team, stated, “This is a groundbreaking case that opens up new possibilities for treating patients with end-stage kidney disease,” adding, “We have demonstrated the viability and effectiveness of xenotransplantation.”
