Pig Lung Transplanted into a Human in Major Scientific First: ScienceAlert

Summary

A genetically modified pig lung transplanted into a brain-dead human patient functioned for nine days in a new achievement that reveals both the promise and significant challenges of xenotransplantation.Over the course of the experiment, the patient showed increasing signs of organ rejection before scientists at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University in China terminated the experiment, allowing the recipient to pass away.It's the first time a pig lung has been transplanted into a human patient, demonstrating a significant step forward, and giving scientists new problems to solve as they develop this emerging medical technique further.Related: World-First Pig Kidney Transplant Was a Huge Breakthrough, But Is It The Future?The availability of suitable human donor organs presents a major bottleneck for patients in need of a transplant. To help resolve this issue, doctors have been investigating the possibilities presented by xenotransplantation: genetically modifying organs from non-human animals – mainly pigs.These modified pig organs are not intended to be permanent solutions for the patient, but a stop-gap 'bridge' solution while they wait for a donor organ to become available. Clinical trials using pig kidneys and livers have shown promise, although further development and research is still needed.Each organ presents its own unique complexities and obstacles. A team led by surgeon Jianxing He of Guangzhou Medical University has now tackled the next major challenge: lungs.The goal of the experiment was not to achieve a successful transplantation on the first try – that would have been pretty incredible, but not a realistic expectation. Rather, the researchers wanted to observe how the patient's immune system responded to the transplanted organ.The researchers preparing the pig lung for transplantation. (He et al., Nat. Med., 2025)The patient was a 39-year-old man who was declared brain-dead by four separate clinical assessments after undergoin...