By Charles Maduka
Doctors in China have successfully transplanted a liver from a genetically modified pig into a 71-year-old man, marking the world’s first successful pig-to-human liver transplant. The procedure was carried out in May 2024 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University.
According to researchers, the patient, who suffered from liver cancer and hepatitis B-induced liver damage, was ineligible for a human liver transplant. The pig liver served as an “auxiliary graft” to support his failing organ. For more than a month, the graft functioned effectively before complications led to its removal. The patient, however, lived for 171 days after the transplant.
Lead investigator, Dr Beicheng Sun, described the operation as a breakthrough in xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting animal organs into humans. He said the success showed that a genetically engineered pig liver could sustain human life for an extended period, although challenges remain with immune and blood-related complications.
Experts have hailed the achievement as a landmark in medical science. Dr Heiner Wedemeyer, co-editor of the Journal of Hepatology, noted that the case demonstrated the potential of xenotransplantation in treating severe liver diseases while also underscoring ethical and biological issues that still need to be resolved.
The development adds to growing global experiments using pig organs in humans. Pigs are considered suitable donors due to their organ size and genetic compatibility with humans. Similar pig heart and kidney transplants have been conducted in the United States in recent years, offering new hope for patients awaiting life-saving organ transplants.
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