Pig Kidney Transplant Lasts for Record 271 Days in US Patient

In the United States, about 100,000 people wait for a kidney transplant. However, doctors only perform 25,000 transplants every year. In the United Kingdom, more than 7,000 people are on the waiting list. This is a big crisis because there are not enough human organs.

Tim Andrews was a 66-year-old man with kidney failure because of type 2 diabetes. Doctors told him about the long waiting list. It can take seven years to get a kidney. But people usually live for only five years on a dialysis machine. This machine filters the blood when kidneys do not work. Tim did not have much time.

On January 25, 2025, doctors at Mass General Brigham hospital performed a special surgery. They did not use a human organ. Instead, they transplanted a kidney from a pig.

Scientists used a special Yucatan miniature pig. They changed the pig's DNA 69 times. This change helped to hide the pig kidney from Tim's immune system. Without these changes, Tim's body would destroy the organ immediately.

The pig kidney worked inside Tim's body for 271 days. This was the longest time on record for this kind of transplant. Tim was very happy because he did not need the dialysis machine. He felt free and had hope.

In October 2025, the pig kidney failed. Doctors removed the organ. Tim used a dialysis machine again for 82 days. Finally, in January of the next year, he received a human kidney. That organ works very well now.

Dr. Leonardo Riella said that there is a crisis. He believes this work brings hope to patients.