Technology
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Pig kidney keeps US patient off dialysis for 9 months
Livemint··5 Sept
A genetically modified pig kidney kept 66-year-old Tim Andrews of New Hampshire off dialysis for nine months before a human transplant. Surgeons implanted the organ from Yucatan miniature pig Wilma in January 2025. It worked for 271 days, the longest such period reported in a living patient. The Lancet calls it the first pig-kidney bridge to a human donor kidney.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Researchers present the pig kidney as a temporary bridge off dialysis while waiting for a human organ.
- Andrews's chance of a human kidney within five years had been put at 9 percent.
- No pig viruses were detected, and no new antibodies against human tissue were found.
What's Happening
- Scientists made 69 genetic edits to Wilma's genome before the transplant.
- The pig kidney began failing after about six months and was removed at nine months.
- Andrews later received a deceased human donor kidney after a further spell on dialysis.
Why the Case Matters
- Andrews had end-stage kidney disease from type 2 diabetes.
- His risk of dying or leaving the waiting list within five years was put above 40 percent.
- Dr Leonardo Riella said further trials are still needed after this single-patient report.
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