Beijing, Mar 27 : Chinese surgeons have successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig liver into a brain-dead human, demonstrating that the organ can function in a human body, researchers announced on Wednesday.
The pig liver produced bile and albumin – key indicators of liver function—and maintained stable blood flow without signs of immunological rejection. The experiment ended after 10 days when the recipient’s family requested the body.
The study’s results, published in the journal Nature, suggest that gene-modified pig livers could potentially serve as human organ replacements, addressing long-standing challenges related to organ failure.
“It is our dream to make this happen—but currently we cannot say whether the pig liver could support a patient with severe liver failure,” said lead researcher Lin Wang, a hepatobiliary surgeon at Xijing Hospital.
The Bama miniature pig’s liver had six gene edits to reduce immune rejection and improve compatibility before transplantation into the human recipient. The procedure was conducted under the supervision of the hospital’s ethics committee.
Oxford professor Peter Friend described the surgical technique as “elegant” but cautioned that since the recipient’s native liver remained intact, it is unclear whether the pig liver could fully support a patient in liver failure.
Spanish expert Ivan Fernandez Vega said further studies were required to evaluate the pig liver’s ability to perform complex liver functions such as drug metabolism and detoxification, beyond the basic functions of bile secretion and albumin synthesis that were assessed.
The study builds on previous xenotransplantation efforts. Rafael Matesanz, founder of Spain’s National Transplant Organisation, noted that at least three kidney transplants using genetically modified pig organs have been performed in the United States since 2021, with one case having a follow-up period of up to 61 days.
