Chinese medical staff succeeded in transplanting both kidneys and the entire liver of a pig into a brain-dead person. Previously, gene-edited pig organs had been transplanted into humans several times, but this is the first time multiple organs were transplanted simultaneously. While the transplanted pig organs functioned normally, the brain-dead person's liver was transplanted to another patient. The result demonstrates that even if pig organs cannot save a brain-dead person, they could provide a clue to solving the organ shortage.
Xuyong Sun, head of the Transplantation Research Institute at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in China, said, "We transplanted two gene-edited pig kidneys and an entire liver into a 53-year-old male brain-dead person, and these organs maintained normal function for five days," in the international medical journal Med on the 30th.
Because pigs have organ sizes and shapes similar to humans, they have drawn attention for decades as an alternative to address the shortage of transplantable organs. This so-called xenotransplantation moves organs such as hearts and kidneys from pigs to humans. Until now, however, xenotransplantation procedures have been limited to a single organ.
◇ To prevent immune rejection, six genes were edited
The patient had severe chronic kidney disease and was declared brain-dead after a cerebral hemorrhage. With the consent of the family, the medical team transplanted pig organs into the brain-dead patient. Pig organs can trigger immune rejection when introduced into the human body. Scientists are addressing this through humanizing genetic modifications.
The pig organs transplanted into the Chinese man had six genes edited. First, using CRISPR-Cas9, an enzyme complex that cuts only the desired genes in DNA, three pig genes that would trigger immune rejection in humans were removed. At the same time, three human genes were added to reduce blood clotting problems.
According to the paper, bile secretion began from the pig liver 19 hours after the transplant. The liver was functioning normally. The same was true for the pig kidneys. The patient's blood creatinine and urea levels returned to normal. Creatinine is a waste product that appears as muscles are used, and urea is a breakdown product of proteins. These two substances are key indicators used to assess the kidneys' filtration function. No immune rejection against the pig organs was observed during the first 24 hours after surgery.
Sun said, "This is the first time two pig kidneys and an entire liver have been transplanted into a person at the same time," adding, "Until now, only part of the liver had been transplanted into people." While transplanting the pig kidneys and liver, the Chinese medical team simultaneously removed the brain-dead person's liver and transplanted it to another patient. Sun said the man's liver was healthy enough to be transplanted into a living person.
Thirty-six hours after the surgery, the pig organs began to show signs of rejection. Pig cells in the liver and kidneys were gradually being replaced by human cells. That indicates the patient's immune system recognized the pig organs as foreign. Tissue necrosis and thrombus formation were also observed in the pig liver.
In particular, the researchers observed elevated levels of S100A12+ neutrophils, which are associated with inflammation, in the transplanted organs. Neutrophils, which account for 50% to 70% of white blood cells, are immune cells that form the body's first line of defense, detecting and destroying pathogens earliest. The researchers said they expect that suppressing these neutrophils with medication in future xenotransplantation surgeries could reduce immune rejection.
◇ Buying time until human organ transplantation
The world faces a chronic shortage of transplantable organs. With population aging, the number of people on waiting lists for transplants increases every year, but organ donations are far short. In the United States, more than 100,000 people are on the transplant waiting list, and about 90,000 of them are waiting for kidneys. Korea is no different. Last year, there were 397 brain-dead organ donors, but 54,789 people were waiting for transplants. An average of 8.5 people on the waiting list die each day.
Xenotransplantation has already shown results. At least 12 people in the United States and China have received transplants of organs such as pig hearts, kidneys, livers and thymuses. In Nov. 2025, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) under Harvard Medical School said a 67-year-old man who had undergone dialysis for more than two years due to kidney failure received a genetically modified pig kidney and lived for a record 271 days without dialysis.
Whether pig organs can fully replace human organs remains uncertain. There have been successive cases in which patients who received pig hearts died from complications. Scientists say that even if pig organs cannot yet replace human organs, they could serve as a bridge that buys time until human organ transplants. This could mean keeping a patient alive until a transplantable organ is found, or maintaining bodily functions until organs are recovered from a brain-dead donor.
In Mar. 2026, medical staff at the Air Force Medical University Xijing Hospital in China said they connected an extracorporeal circulation device containing a pig liver to a patient with liver failure, keeping the person alive until the actual liver transplant surgery. In this case, pig organs bought time until the brain-dead person's liver could be transplanted to another patient. Helpful "lucky pigs" that save lives are approaching.
References
Med (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2026.101148
Nature Medicine (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-04196-3