Pig Kidney Kept US Man Alive for Record 271 Days
A pig kidney kept a US man alive for 271 days. Doctors call this a record.
66-year-old Tim Andrews has end-stage kidney disease from type 2 diabetes. He needed a human kidney transplant.
Andrews was the first patient to try this treatment. Doctors used the pig kidney as a bridge to a transplant.
The kidney came from a pig named Wilma. Doctors performed the procedure at Mass General Brigham hospital.
Wilma's kidney had 69 genetic changes. The pig kidney kept Andrews off dialysis the whole time.
Doctors later removed it after its function declined. Andrews returned to dialysis for several months.
He then received a human kidney transplant. Doctors found no pig germs or new harmful antibodies.
But they said the result needs more study. Andrews had a 9% chance of a kidney in five years.
Key Terms 4
- genetically modified The pig's genes were changed by scientists to work in a human body.
- end-stage kidney disease The most severe stage of kidney failure.
- dialysis A machine treatment that cleans blood when kidneys fail.
- Mass General Brigham A large hospital network in Boston, USA.