In a groundbreaking medical achievement, doctors at the Xijing Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, have successfully transplanted a pig’s liver into a patient. The liver has functioned for over 96 hours, breaking the previous record. The patient, who was brain dead, underwent a 9-hour surgery where the entire liver of a multi-gene-edited pig was transplanted into their body. The transplanted liver has exhibited excellent bile secretion, blood supply, and pathological results, surpassing the expectations of the medical team. This breakthrough in xenotransplantation, the process of grafting organs from one species to another, represents a significant advancement in the clinical application of xenogeneic liver transplantation.
This achievement is particularly significant for China, as the country has around 400 million patients with liver disease, with 300,000 to 500,000 new cases of liver failure each year. Liver transplantation is currently the only effective cure for liver failure, but the scarcity of donors often leads to many patients losing their lives while waiting for a suitable liver. The success of the pig liver transplant offers hope for those in need of a liver transplant, potentially easing the strain on the limited availability of human donors. This breakthrough could pave the way for further advancements in xenotransplantation and provide a viable solution for patients in urgent need of organ transplantation.
