Surgeon transplants a pig’s kidney into a brain-dead human in groundbreaking surgery

Robert Montgomery, a New York transplant surgeon, “conducted a successful surgery that transplanted a pig’s kidney into a brain-dead human.” 

US surgeons say that the successful transplant could ultimately be the key to solving donor organ shortages. The recipient of the kidney was brain-dead, and was on artificial life support “with no prospect of recovering.” 

The kidney came from a pig that had been genetically modified to stop the organ being recognized by the body as “foreign” and being rejected. 

Although the work has not been peer-reviewed or published, there are plans to do so, and experts say it is the “most advanced experiment in the field so far.” 

See Michelle Roberts, Surgeon transplants a pig’s kidney into a brain-dead human in groundbreaking surgery, BBC, October 21, 2021. 

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.