In a groundbreaking medical achievement, doctors in China successfully performed the world’s first pig liver transplant on a human, allowing the patient to survive for 171 days after the procedure. The transplant, a type of xenotransplantation, involved using a genetically modified pig liver to temporarily replace the patient’s failing organ. Experts hail the case as a major step forward in addressing the global organ shortage crisis.
A 71-year-old terminally ill Chinese man survived at least 171 days after a genetically engineered pig liver was implanted in his body, doctors said. According to CNN, it is the longest surviving period ever documented for a human patient receiving pig liver/
The patient, from Anhui province, suffered from life-threatening cirrhosis and severe liver disease related to hepatitis B, both of which have no effective standard treatment. As a final resort, he was operated on with an 11-month-old genetically engineered pig liver.
Doctors said the patient initially survived 38 days with the pig organ in place before it was removed when his own liver functioned sufficiently. Despite the fact that the patients had some complications later, the procedure is being hailed for providing critical insights into xenotransplantation and has shown that pig livers could serve as temporary support for patients awaiting human organ transplants.
What was the transplant procedure?
According to doctors, for the patient, due to his double liver disease, it was difficult to perform a conventional human transplantation, and so, at least ten gene edits were done in the pig kidney, which was to be transplanted to him to reduce immune rejection and infection risks.
He was administered immunosuppressive drugs that helped his body accept the foreign organ. Surgeons then successfully removed the tumour and attached the pig liver to the remaining portion of the patient’s liver, achieving immediate bile flow and improved liver function indicators.
Reports say initially, the pig liver functioned well, and there were no signs of inflammation or acute rejection. Also, ultrasound tests confirmed normal blood flow through the portal vein, hepatic artery, and hepatic vein. However, after almost a month of the surgery, the patient’s heart started showing signs of stress, and tests revealed inflammatory changes and possible xenotransplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy – damage or disease affecting small blood vessels, which can cause organ injury. But the doctors removed the pig liver on the 38th day after the patient’s own liver regained sufficient function to support life.
