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First pig kidney transplant in a person: what it means for the future

The operation’s early success has made researchers hopeful that clinical trials for xenotransplanted organs will start soon.
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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  2. Max Kozlov
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The early success of the first transplant of a pig kidney into a living person has raised researchers’ hopes that larger clinical trials involving pig organs will soon become a reality. Such trials could bring xenotransplantation — the use of animal organs in human recipients — into the clinic.

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Nature 628, 13-14 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00879-y

Updates & Corrections

  • Clarification 22 March 2024: An earlier version of this story did not make clear that eGenesis’s liver programme is for livers outside the body.

  • Correction 22 March 2024: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the porcine molecules that provoke attack from human immune cells.

  • Update 28 March 2024: This story has been updated with new information on the condition of Richard Slayman, the recipient of the pig kidney.

  • Correction 28 March 2024: An earlier version of this story misstated the timing of a pig-liver transplant.

References

  1. Anand, R. P. et al. Nature 622, 393–401 (2023).

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  3. Mohiuddin, M. M. et al. Lancet 402, 397–410 (2023).

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