Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Keeps Man Alive for Record Nine Months
A genetically modified pig kidney kept a 66-year-old man off dialysis for a record nine months, marking the longest survival for a pig organ in a living person and the first bridge to a later human transplant.
Tim Andrews, who had end-stage kidney disease caused by type 2 diabetes, received the kidney from a genetically engineered Yucatan miniature pig named Wilma, according to The Guardian. Andrews had only a 9% chance of receiving a human kidney within five years, against a more than 40% risk of dying or being removed from the waiting list. The kidney kept him free of dialysis for nine months before it began failing and he received a kidney from a deceased human donor.
Kidney transplantation provides the best survival and quality of life for patients with end-stage kidney disease, but global demand for human organs far exceeds supply. Surgeons in the United States transplanted the pig kidney after genetically engineering it to be compatible with Andrews' immune system.
This was also the first time a pig kidney had been used as a temporary bridge to a human transplant. The case has been detailed in the journal The Lancet.