Overview

• A Journal of Hepatology report details the first transplant of a genetically modified pig liver into a living human by a team at Anhui Medical University in China.
• The donor organ carried ten genetic alterations and performed metabolic tasks in the patient, including producing bile acids and essential blood proteins.
• Vascular injury consistent with thrombotic microangiopathy emerged, leading clinicians to remove the xenograft on day 38.
• The 71-year-old recipient survived for 171 days after surgery, with the authors reporting a later fatal upper gastrointestinal bleed.
• Independent experts call the result a proof of concept with potential as short-term bridge therapy, urging further work on immunology, coagulation control, biosafety surveillance and ethical frameworks before wider use.