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First Pig Lung Transplant in a Human Worked for Nine Days, Study Finds

In a brain-dead recipient, the model exposed rapid inflammatory injury with antibody-driven rejection, underscoring key barriers to clinical use.

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Overview

  • The procedure was conducted by Professor Jianxing He’s team at The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University in China.
  • The left lung from a genetically modified pig functioned for 216 hours in a 39-year-old man declared clinically brain-dead after a cerebral hemorrhage.
  • Investigators observed lung injury within 24 hours and antibody-mediated rejection on days three and six, leading to termination on day nine.
  • The findings, published August 25 in Nature Medicine, are presented as a proof-of-concept rather than a treatment for patients.
  • It remains unclear whether such a graft could support a living recipient without mechanical life support, with future efforts targeting additional gene edits and refined immunosuppression.