First Multi-Organ Pig-to-Human Transplant Performed in China

Key facts

• Researchers at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in Nanning, China, performed the world's first multi-organ pig-to-human transplant.
• The procedure involved transplanting two kidneys and a whole liver from a genetically modified pig into a 53-year-old brain-dead man.
• The pig organs underwent six genetic tweaks, including the insertion of three human genes for compatibility and the removal of three pig genes to prevent organ rejection.
• This experimental procedure falls under the field of xenotransplantation, which involves moving whole organs, tissues, or cells from one species into another.
• The transplanted organs functioned for nearly five days, with the liver producing bile within 19 hours and the kidneys restoring waste-filter levels.