Use pig organs while patients wait for donors, say scientists
Scientists are advocating for the use of gene-edited pig organs as a temporary bridge for patients awaiting human kidney transplants. A recent case study involving a 66-year-old patient demonstrated that a pig kidney could successfully function for nine months, offering a potential solution to the global organ shortage crisis.
Why it matters
Xenotransplantation could significantly reduce mortality rates for patients on long-term dialysis by providing a viable short-term alternative to human donor organs.
Patients on organ donation waiting lists should have transplants from pigs while a suitable human donor is found, scientists have suggested.
Experimental cases of giving gene-edited pig organs to people have shown promise.
In a world first, Tim Andrews, 66, from New Hampshire was given a pig kidney that enabled him to stay off dialysis for nine months. Doctors said the animal organ had been used as a temporary "bridge" while Mr Andrews waited for a transplant from a human donor.
Researchers from Mass General Brigham academic centres and hospitals in the US published their findings in the Lancet medical journal. They say the case proves that xenotransplantation – transplanting organs across species – could be a viable short-term solution to temporarily help treat the most ill patients.
Mr Andrews had end-stage kidney disease and received the pig kidney in the US in January 2025.
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