Pig Kidney Xenotransplant Keeps Patient Alive for Nine Months

Tim Andrews, 66, survived for 271 days without dialysis after receiving a genetically modified pig kidney transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in 2025.

The procedure, detailed in The Lancet on September 3, 2026, represents the longest documented survival for a porcine kidney xenotransplant before the patient underwent a successful human kidney transplant.

While the pig kidney functioned immediately, the patient experienced organ failure after six months due to microvascular injury, proving the potential of xenotransplantation as a bridge to human organ donation.