In a landmark medical achievement, Chinese surgeons have successfully transplanted a gene-edited pig liver into a living human patient, who survived 171 days following the operation, marking a major step forward in addressing the global shortage of human donor organs.
The pioneering procedure, detailed in this month’s Journal of Hepatology, was led by a team from the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, using a genetically modified pig liver developed by researchers at Yunnan Agricultural University.
The donor pig underwent extensive pathogen testing and a sophisticated 10-gene editing process. Three pig genes responsible for rapid antibody-mediated rejection were removed, while seven human genes were inserted to enhance immune tolerance and prevent blood clotting complications, according to the study.
The surgery, performed on May 17, 2024, involved transplanting the pig liver as an auxiliary organ to support a 71-year-old patient with a large, inoperable tumor in the right lobe of the liver. This followed an earlier procedure in April, when another Chinese team transplanted a genetically modified pig liver into a brain-dead patient at Xijing Hospital of the Air Force Medical University in Xi’an.
Initially, the results were encouraging. For the first 31 days, the transplanted liver functioned well without signs of acute rejection. However, on day 38, the patient developed severe blood clots in the small vessels of the graft, leading the clinical team to remove the auxiliary liver. The patient later experienced recurrent upper gastrointestinal bleeding and passed away on day 171.
Although the patient’s survival was limited, the case demonstrates that a pig liver can support a human patient for a clinically meaningful period. Experts say this milestone establishes xenotransplantation as a potential “bridge” therapy for patients awaiting human liver transplants.
“This operation does not yet pave the way for widespread clinical use of pig livers, but it provides proof-of-concept that such grafts can function in humans,” noted a review published in the Journal of Hepatology.
Source: Xinhua