A pioneering pig-kidney transplant gave a US patient 271 days free from regular dialysis—the longest period recorded for such a procedure, according to his doctors.
For Tim Andrews, the transplant brought renewed optimism and allowed him to avoid months of hospital visits to have his blood filtered by a dialysis machine.
“Hope is the biggest thing, the chance to be free from the [dialysis] machine and live your life,” he said.
The medical team at Mass General Brigham believes the achievement demonstrates how genetically modified pig organs could serve as a “bridge,” supporting patients until a suitable human organ becomes available.
Although the pig kidney eventually stopped working and had to be removed, Andrews needed dialysis for only a short time before doctors found a human donor.
Researchers are studying xenotransplantation—the use of organs from other species—as a promising response to the worldwide shortage of donor organs.
Demand remains high. About 100,000 people in the US are waiting for a kidney, while approximately 25,000 kidney transplants take place there each year. In the UK, more than 7,000 people are on the kidney-transplant waiting list.
Andrews had previously been told that reaching the top of the list could take seven years. At the same time, patients survive for an average of only five years on dialysis.
“I had a little bit of a shortage of time… it becomes very depressing,” he said.
The possibility of receiving a pig kidney offered Andrews “hope” and the “light at the end of the tunnel.” His record-setting transplant now provides further encouragement that this developing field could give more patients valuable time, greater freedom and a brighter path toward receiving a human organ.
