Pig kidney xenotransplantation performing optimally after 32 days in human body

Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney that continues to function well after 32 days in a man declared dead by neurologic criteria and maintained with a beating heart on ventilator support.

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This represents the longest period that a gene-edited pig kidney has functioned in a human, and the latest step toward the advent of an alternate, sustainable supply of organs for transplant.

This work demonstrates a pig kidney with only one genetic modification and without experimental medications or devices can replace the function of a human kidney for at least 32 days without being rejected. Scientist had previously performed the world's first genetically modified pig kidney transplant into a human decedent on September 25, 2021, followed by a second similar procedure on November 22, 2021. Surgeons with the Transplant Institute performed two genetically engineered pig heart transplants in summer 2022.