{"id":613760,"date":"2026-09-04T02:26:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T02:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/613760\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T02:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T02:26:26","slug":"man-given-genetically-modified-pig-kidney-for-nine-months-in-world-first-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/613760\/","title":{"rendered":"Man given genetically modified pig kidney for nine months in world first \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man has been given a genetically modified pig kidney which enabled him to stay off dialysis for nine months in a world first.<\/p>\n

Doctors said the animal organ was used as a temporary \u201cbridge\u201d while the man waited for a transplant from a human donor.<\/p>\n

A man has been given a genetically modified pig kidney which enabled him to stay off dialysis for nine months in a world first.<\/p>\n

Tim Andrews, who had end-stage kidney disease, was 66 when he received the pig kidney in the US in January 2025.<\/p>\n

He lived successfully with the genetically edited organ for 271 days\u00a0before moving to short-term dialysis and receiving a donor human kidney.<\/p>\n

\"Milei<\/a>\"Schools<\/a><\/p>\n

It is the longest dialysis-free survival after a pig kidney transplant in a living human and the first transition from pig-to-human kidney transplantation, doctors have said.<\/p>\n

The team, from Mass General Brigham academic centres and hospitals in the US, published their findings in the Lancet medical journal.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe genetically edited pig kidney allowed Mr Andrews to stay off dialysis for nine months in a world first (Kate Flock\/Massachusetts General Hospital\/PA) <\/p>\n

Lead author Dr Leonardo Riella,\u00a0from the centre for transplantation sciences at Mass General Brigham, said: \u201cThe organ shortage is the greatest crisis we have right now in transplantation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that the best treatment option for patients with end-stage kidney disease who have developed renal failure is transplantation, but we simply don\u2019t have enough human organs to transplant in a timely manner.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision is that xenotransplantation could help address this gap \u2013 initially as a bridge to get patients off dialysis while they wait for a human donor kidney, and potentially, as we establish long-term safety and durability, as a destination therapy in its own right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another pig kidney transplant to a living human was undertaken in 2024 at Massachusetts General Hospital, where the patient survived 52 days before dying from heart issues unrelated to the transplant.<\/p>\n

\"MrMr Andrews with his surgeons Dr Tatsuo Kawai, left, and Dr Leonardo Riella (Kate Flock\/Massachusetts General Hospital\/PA) <\/p>\n

Dr Rommel Ravanan, chief medical officer for NHS\u00a0Blood and Transplant in the UK, who is a consultant nephrologist, said the US and China have reported several similar transplants since 2022.<\/p>\n

There are currently no clinical trials in the UK for a similar procedure although regulators have looked into how they would work.<\/p>\n

He told the Press Association: \u201cAdvances in genetics technology enable teams to \u2018knock out\u2019 some of the pig genes, so the human body is less able to recognise the organ was different.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecent improvements in genetic mapping and the development of techniques such as CRISPR \u2018genetic scissors\u2019 have made this more possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cPigs are chosen for several reasons, including that their organ size and anatomy is similar to that of human.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic surveys have shown most, but not all, people in the UK are supportive of the idea of lifesaving animal to human transplants.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are even more supportive when told animal to human transplants should only be introduced if shown to be safe and effective.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to recognise that, even if shown to be effective, there is still a very long way to go before these kinds of transplants could become an everyday reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the transplant waiting list at an all-time high, and people dying on the transplant waiting list every day, there is an urgent need for more people to support organ donation by joining the NHS Organ Donor Register and talking to their family about their wish to be an organ donor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ResearchersResearchers said no pig viruses or other pig pathogens were detected at any point (Kate Flock\/Massachusetts General Hospital\/PA) <\/p>\n

Dr Ravanan said a Department of Health and Social Care-sponsored advisory group of experts has made recommendations to ministers on the UK\u2019s response to pig organ transplants, which were accepted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese recommendations cover policy in this field, including regulation, oversight, ethics including animal welfare, and research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Andrews, from New Hampshire, had kidney failure caused by type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

The pig kidney came from a Yucatan miniature pig and was genetically engineered to be compatible with the human immune system.<\/p>\n

It was transplanted in January last year and began working immediately.<\/p>\n

\"NurseNurse Melanie Brodner monitors Mr Andrews four days after his surgery (Kate Flock\/Massachusetts General Hospital\/PA) <\/p>\n

After roughly six months, damage developed in the kidney\u2019s blood vessels which progressed to organ failure and the pig kidney was removed.<\/p>\n

Mr Andrews later received a kidney from a dead human donor.<\/p>\n

In a CNN documentary, he said the pig kidney transplant was a \u201cmiracle\u201d, adding: \u201cI was alive, and I hadn\u2019t been in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he was able to cook, vacuum and take long walks with his dog Cupcake.<\/p>\n

\"MrMr Andrews leaves Massachusetts General Hospital with his wife, Karen, on February 1 2025 (Kate Flock\/Massachusetts General Hospital\/PA) <\/p>\n

Researchers said no pig viruses or other pig pathogens were detected at any point.<\/p>\n

They added that the findings support pig kidney transplantation as potentially a bridge for people facing long waits for a human kidney, while highlighting the need for further research.<\/p>\n

Dr Riella said:\u00a0\u201cThe patients are the true pioneers here. By stepping forward and being willing to participate in these early-stage studies, they are advancing the science.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout their trust and courage, we would not be able to do what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man has been given a genetically modified pig kidney which enabled him to stay off dialysis for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613761,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[150578,75116,260261,103,260262,61,60,32812,8001,43255,260263,260264,260265,78816,1577],"class_list":["post-613760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-department-of-health-and-social-care","tag-dialysis","tag-genetically-edited-organ","tag-health","tag-human-kidney-transplant","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mass-general-brigham","tag-massachusetts-general-hospital","tag-nhs-blood-and-transplant","tag-nhs-organ-donor-register","tag-organ-shortage","tag-pig-kidney-transplant","tag-the-lancet","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613760"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613760\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}