China Makes Medical History: Pig Liver Transplanted Into Human Patient

A team of Chinese doctors has achieved a significant milestone in the field of xenotransplantation, successfully transplanting a liver from a genetically modified pig into a brain-dead human for the first time.

This breakthrough, announced on Wednesday, marks a step forward in the search for viable organ donor alternatives, potentially offering hope to thousands of patients in need of liver transplants.

Pigs as Ideal Organ Donors

In recent years, pigs have become the frontrunners for organ donation, with successful kidney and heart transplants performed on living patients in the United States.

However, livers have presented a greater challenge due to their complex functions, making this recent development particularly noteworthy.

With an ever-growing demand for liver transplants worldwide, researchers are optimistic that genetically edited pigs could serve as a temporary, life-saving solution for critically ill patients.

Doctors from the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an, China, documented their achievement in the prestigious journal Nature.

According to the study, a liver from a miniature pig—modified with six specific gene edits to improve compatibility—was transplanted into a brain-dead adult on March 10, 2024.

The Role of a ‘Bridge Organ’

Unlike a full replacement transplant, this procedure was classified as an auxiliary transplant, meaning the patient retained their original liver.

The objective was to test whether the pig liver could function as a “bridge organ” to support patients awaiting a human donor.

Over a 10-day period, doctors closely monitored the liver’s blood flow, immune response, bile production, and protein synthesis.

The results were promising.

According to study co-author Lin Wang of Xi’an Hospital, the pig liver “functioned really well” and “smoothly secreted bile,” while also producing the vital protein albumin.

“It’s a great achievement that could help people with liver problems in the future,” Wang stated at a press conference.

Despite this progress, experts caution that more research is required before pig livers can be considered a permanent replacement for human livers.

The challenge lies in the liver’s multifaceted role, which extends beyond simple blood circulation to complex metabolic functions such as filtering toxins and breaking down substances like alcohol and medication.

Wang noted that the pig liver in this study produced much smaller amounts of bile and albumin than a human liver typically would.

Looking Ahead: Testing in Living Patients

Following this promising experiment, researchers plan to advance their trials by testing gene-edited pig livers in living human recipients.

Peter Friend, a transplantation professor at Oxford University who was not involved in the study, called the results “valuable and impressive.”

However, he cautioned that “this is not a replacement for liver transplantation from human donors (at least in the near-term).”

Instead, he emphasized that the study serves as a crucial test of genetically modified liver compatibility with human bodies, pointing toward a future where such organs could provide vital support to patients suffering from liver failure.

Collaboration with international researchers, particularly those in the United States, has been pivotal in advancing xenotransplantation.

“To be frank, we have learned quite a lot from all the research performed and investigated by the United States doctors,” Wang acknowledged.

This development follows previous xenotransplantation efforts, including a 2023 experiment at the University of Pennsylvania in which a pig liver was attached externally to a brain-dead patient.

Additionally, while two U.S. recipients of pig heart transplants did not survive, a more recent case has shown promise—53-year-old Towana Looney of Alabama returned home successfully after receiving a pig kidney transplant in November 2024.

With ongoing research and international collaboration, the dream of using genetically modified pig livers to bridge the gap in human organ donation may soon become a reality.

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