A 66-year-old patient, Tim Andrews, has become the first living recipient to transition from a genetically edited pig kidney to a human kidney transplant. He received the pig kidney at Massachusetts General Hospital in January 2025 and later underwent a deceased-donor human kidney transplant in January 2026. The case, published in The Lancet on September 3, marks the longest dialysis-free survival reported after pig-to-human xenotransplantation. Researchers highlight both the potential of xenotransplantation to address organ shortage and the need to refine genetic engineering, immune-suppression strategies, and monitoring for longer-lasting outcomes.
About the Author
