A MAN lived with a transplanted pig liver for more than a month in the most successful operation of its kind, scientists say.
The terminally ill 71-year-old received the genetically modified organ in Anhui, China, last year.
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It then functioned normally for 38 days – five weeks – before having to be removed due to blood clotting, a complication from the op.
The patient was the first living person to have the procedure and survived for 171 days, about six months, afterwards.
He had run out of treatment options for liver cancer and scarring caused by hepatitis B, and died from internal bleeding months after the transplant was removed.
His survival is not as long as the record for a patient with a pig’s kidney, at six months and counting.
But it was longer than the previous record for a liver, set by a brain-dead patient whose life support was turned off after 10 days.
Scientists have also experimented with transplanting a lung into a brain-dead patient.
A new era has started
Dr Heiner Wedemeyer
Surgeon and study author Dr Beicheng Sun, from Anhui Medical University, said: “This case proves that a genetically engineered pig liver can function in a human for an extended period.
“It is a pivotal step forward, demonstrating both the promise and the remaining hurdles.”
Scientists hope that organs from pigs could be used to save people at risk of dying on transplant waiting lists.
They are similar in size to human body parts and gene editing can cut the risk of the immune system rejecting them.
Writing in the Journal of Hepatology, Dr Sun said more experiments are needed to perfect the procedure.
Dr Heiner Wedemeyer, editor of the journal, said: “A new era of transplant has started.”
HOW TO BECOME AN ORGAN DONOR
JUST over 4,500 people received an organ transplant in 2023 from 2,387 donors – but more than 400 people per year die waiting because there are not enough donors.
NHS Blood and Transplant says: “Only one per cent of people who die in the UK every year die in the right circumstances and in the right location to be eligible for their organs to be used to save someone’s life.
“That is why we need as large a pool of people as possible.”
The law has changed so all adults are “opt-out” organ donors, meaning hospitals can use their organs unless they told the NHS they did not want to be a donor, or their family says no after they die.
Six in 10 families refuse to let doctors use their loved one’s organs.
People who want their organs to be used to help others after they die can register online on this link.
Parents must give their consent for their child’s organs to be donated if the child dies.
Health chiefs have also added sign-up options to new passport and driving licence applications to try and boost numbers.