#NewsBytesExplainer: Transplanting pig organs into humans
Chinese doctors made history by transplanting a genetically modified pig liver into a 71-year-old man with liver cancer back in May 2025.
The surgery, done at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, gave the patient's own liver time to recover after his diseased lobe was removed—a big step for organ transplants when human donors are scarce.
How did the surgery go?
The pig liver actually worked for 38 days, making bile and clotting factors without being rejected by the patient's body.
Although complications meant it had to be removed later, the procedure showed that animal organs could help people survive until better options come up.
What does this mean for organ transplants?
With so few human donor livers available, especially in China, this breakthrough hints at hope for thousands waiting on transplant lists.
It also puts China ahead in using gene-edited pig organs to tackle organ shortages—something that could change lives around the world.