A 66-year-old man who received a genetically modified pig kidney has survived for 271 days without dialysis before successfully undergoing a human kidney transplant. This marks the first instance of a pig kidney serving as a 'bridge' for a patient awaiting a human transplant.
According to a report by The Guardian on September 3, Tim Andrews, who lives in New Hampshire, was suffering from end-stage kidney disease due to type 2 diabetes when he received the pig kidney in January 2025. After 271 days without dialysis, he received a human kidney transplant. Andrews had only a 9% chance of receiving a human donor kidney within five years, while the risk of death or being removed from the transplant waiting list was over 40%.
The transplant, performed at Massachusetts General Hospital in January 2025, utilized a kidney from a pig named Wilma. The transplanted kidney had its major xenogeneic antigens removed and the pig endogenous retrovirus inactivated, with seven human genes inserted through gene editing. These measures aimed to reduce the risk of the human immune system attacking the organ and to lower the risk of pathogens from the pig that could infect humans.
The Guardian reported that this case represents the longest survival period without dialysis after a pig kidney transplant in a living person. Previously, a pig kidney was transplanted into a living patient in 2024, but that patient died 52 days later from heart disease unrelated to the transplant. Prior studies had not reported any xenograft organs surviving for more than two months.
Andrews described the pig kidney transplant as a "miracle," stating that he was able to cook, clean, and take long walks with his dog after the procedure. However, about six months post-transplant, damage to the blood vessels of the pig kidney was observed, leading to a decline in organ function, and the kidney was removed after nine months. Following this, Andrews underwent several months of dialysis, according to The Guardian.
He then received a kidney from a deceased human donor, which functioned normally during a subsequent six-month follow-up. Notably, no new antibodies that would attack human tissue were formed due to the pig kidney transplant, indicating it did not interfere with the human kidney transplant. No pig viruses or other pig-derived pathogens were detected either.
The findings of this study were published in the medical journal The Lancet. The research team noted that this case demonstrates the potential to address the organ shortage issue. They explained that patients who must wait a long time for a human kidney could receive a pig kidney first, allowing them to wait without dialysis until a suitable human kidney becomes available.
Dr. Leonardo Liela from Brigham and Women's Hospital identified the organ shortage as one of the biggest crises in the field of transplantation, expressing hope that xenotransplantation could serve as a 'bridge' for patients awaiting human kidney transplants.
However, the research team emphasized that the results are based on a single patient, which limits generalization. The individual characteristics of the patient and the high level of specialized care may have influenced the outcomes.
The researchers stated that further clinical trials are needed to confirm whether pig kidneys can be used as a bridge to human kidney transplants.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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