In a groundbreaking medical milestone, scientists have successfully performed the world’s first pig liver transplant in a living human. The pioneering procedure took place in China, marking a major step forward in the field of xenotransplantation — the transplantation of animal organs into humans.
According to the research team, doctors transplanted a genetically modified pig’s liver into a patient who went on to live for 171 days after the operation. The transplanted organ functioned inside the patient’s body for 38 days, demonstrating unprecedented compatibility and endurance before it ceased working.
This development follows a series of previous medical achievements in which scientists successfully transplanted pig hearts and kidneys into humans. In August this year, Chinese researchers also carried out an experimental pig lung transplant, signaling the rapid progress of this technology.
Traditionally, pig liver transplants have only been performed on brain-dead patients to study short-term immune responses and organ functionality. This marks the first-ever instance of the procedure being conducted on a living person, offering new hope for addressing the chronic shortage of human donor organs.
Experts say the success of this experiment could eventually revolutionize organ transplantation, potentially saving thousands of lives each year. However, researchers caution that ethical concerns, long-term immune responses, and cross-species infection risks still need to be thoroughly evaluated before such procedures can become medically approved for wider use.
