“World’s first case: Pig kidneys helped patients with kidney failure avoid dialysis for 9 months, eventually leading to the availability of human donor kidneys.”

“World’s first case: Pig kidneys helped patients with kidney failure avoid dialysis for 9 months, eventually leading to the transplantation of human kidneys.”

On September 3rd, local time, The Lancet published a case report stating that the US medical system Barenhaus successfully performed the world’s first “bridge” kidney transplant using pigs, helping Tim Andrews, a patient with end-stage renal disease, avoid dialysis for 271 days (about nine months). He subsequently received a human kidney in January 2026. The surgery was conducted on January 25, 2025, and the transplanted Yucatan mini-pig kidneys were modified through 69 genetic edits to improve compatibility with the human body. No transmission of pig pathogens was detected after the surgery, but the patient developed organ failure due to infection and vascular damage approximately six months later, and the pig kidney was removed on October 23, 2025. Dr. Leonardo Riera, the lead surgeon, said that xenotransplantation aims to alleviate the crisis of organ shortages, and the team has now completed five such transplants.