Overview
- Chinese surgeons implanted an auxiliary, gene-edited pig liver into a 71-year-old man in May 2024, marking the first documented therapeutic use in a living human.
- The graft functioned immediately, producing bile and synthesizing albumin and clotting factors, and there was no hyperacute rejection during the first month.
- On day 38, doctors removed the graft after xenotransplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy developed; the patient later died on day 171 from upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
- The donor was an 11-month-old cloned pig with 10 targeted gene edits to reduce xenoantigens and improve compatibility, alongside intensive immunosuppression in the recipient.
- Published in the Journal of Hepatology with an editorial calling for cautious optimism, the case underscores bridge potential and the need to address coagulation dysregulation, immune complications, pathogen safety, and formal trials.