A team of doctors in China has successfully transplanted a pig’s lung into a human for the first time. The organ, taken from a gene-edited Bama Xiang pig, was attached to a 39-year-old man who had been declared brain dead. The lung functioned for nine days, transporting oxygen into the patient’s blood until the immune system eventually rejected it.

The surgery is part of xenotransplantation, which uses animal organs to help humans in need of transplants. This method is significant because many patients die waiting for organs when their lungs fail. Researchers tracked the pig lung for 216 hours in a peer-reviewed study, observing how the human immune system reacts to an animal organ over time.

The procedure was led by Jianxing He from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, a team specializing in lung surgery and transplant research.

First time, doctors in China successfully implant pig lung into a human

The pig lung was then attached to the patient’s airway and blood vessels using standard transplant techniques, while leaving the patient’s other natural lung intact for stability and safe data collection.

Once blood flow resumed, the lung began exchanging gases, and oxygen levels were normal. The main complication appeared within 24 hours, as fluid built up in the tissue, similar to primary graft dysfunction, a common issue in lung transplants.

By the third to sixth days, tests showed the immune system attacking the lung tissue. Although some improvements were seen by day nine, researchers removed the lung to study it further.

Recent successes with pig kidney transplants in humans, including a patient who has survived over six months with a pig kidney, show that carefully designed gene edits and tailored medicines can extend organ acceptance.

Lungs are more complex than kidneys, but breakthroughs could offer new options for patients suffering from cystic fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, or severe emphysema. If the right combination of gene editing and drug therapy is found, animal lungs could save many lives in the future.