First-ever pig liver transplant keeps man alive for 171 days
What's the story
Surgeons in China have performed the world's first pig-to-human liver transplant. The groundbreaking procedure was carried out on a 71-year-old patient suffering from cancer, who survived for 171 days after the transplant. The team, led by Dr. Beicheng Sun from Anhui Medical University, detailed their findings in a paper published in The Journal of Hepatology.
Surgical details
How the groundbreaking procedure was performed
The surgical team removed the patient's larger right lobe, which had a grapefruit-sized tumor, and attached a portion of genetically modified pig liver to the left lobe. The transplanted organ functioned well, producing bile and synthesizing blood clotting factors. Notably, the patient's body did not reject this organ graft, allowing his remaining left lobe to regenerate and grow over time.
Transplant duration
Patient lived for 5 months after surgery
The porcine liver lobe was removed 38 days after the transplant due to complications. The patient died a little over five months later. He was not eligible for a human donor organ in China because of his advanced cancer and hepatitis B-related cirrhosis. Dr. Sun clarified that the plan was always to have a temporary pig liver transplant until either regeneration or recovery of the liver, or finding a human donor organ.
Expert opinions
Landmark development, but more work needed
Dr. Heiner Wedemeyer, a co-editor of The Journal of Hepatology, called the procedure a "breakthrough" and a "historical clinical milestone." However, he also cautioned that this was just one case and there is still much work to be done to prevent complications and excessive blood clotting. Harvard Medical School's Dr. Heidi Yeh also praised the effort as a "landmark development," noting its success in humans after previous failures in primates.
Medical advancements
China pushes ahead with pig organ transplants
The procedure highlights the rapid pace at which Chinese medical scientists are pushing to use genetically modified pig organs for their country's huge population. They are particularly keen on using kidneys from these pigs to treat over 1.2 million kidney failure patients in China. Recently, a 69-year-old woman was reported to have survived with a functioning gene-edited pig kidney for over six months.
Health crisis
Liver disease and organ donor shortage in China
Liver disease is a major public health issue in China, with over 300,000 people suffering from liver failure every year. The country also suffers from a severe shortage of human donor organs. In 2022 alone, only about 6,000 people received liver transplants from human donors in China. This makes the success of xenotransplantation even more crucial for patients like the one in this case study.