A group of doctors in China performed a genetically modified pig liver transplant on a living person, opening a new era in organ transplant medicine.
That pig liver had been active for 38 days before it had to be removed due to the formation of a blood clot - this was the longest-lived animal liver transplant on record.
The recipient was a 71-year-old man, suffering from cirrhosis and stage B hepatitis, with no other choice. The transplant was performed in Anhui Province, China. After the pig liver was removed, he continued to live for another 171 days, before dying from internal bleeding.
Pork liver is used as a type of liver that has been engineered to reduce the risk of being attacked by the immune system. During the 38 days of activity, this liver secreted bile, produced albumin and showed basic signs of function - something that medical experts considered a "specially successful" in the field of xenotransplantation (aseptic transplantation), which is organ transplantation between different species.
According to the doctor leading the transplant team, the liver is a more complex organ than the heart or kidneys because it performs many functions: Leakage, nutritional metabolism, blood clotting regulation, detoxification... If it can help pig liver function stably in the human body for a long enough time, it can become a "connecting" solution for patients waiting for the liver to donate.
However, there are still many major barriers. The appearance of blood clots is an unpredictable problem. In addition, pig liver is unlikely to completely replace long-term human liver function. Doctors say that current technology is still suitable for using pig liver as a temporary measure - helping to maintain survival while waiting for a donor liver - rather than permanent liver replacement.
Previously, there was a pig liver transplant to a brain-dead person, where the pig liver was active for 10 days before being removed, showing no serious discharge reaction. That experience has helped scientists gain more confidence in testing on humans.
This transplant creates new hope for patients with end-stage liver failure, who have to wait in line for the donor's liver, but the number of organ donations is very limited. If improved, pig liver can help save the lives of many people who do not have the opportunity to receive timely liver.
