Surgeons Attach Pig Kidney To Human Patient

Surgeons in New York have completed the first-ever successful transplant of a pig's kidney into a human patient.

  • The organ was taken from a pig that was genetically engineered to grow organs that would not be rejected by humans. It began working normally after being attached to a brain-dead patient on a ventilator.
  • It's a major breakthrough for medical science - especially with over 90,000 Americans currently on the waiting list for a new kidney.
  • Doctors at New York University have made history by performing the world's first successful kidney transplant involving a pig and a human.
  • The surgery, which was performed September 25th, was performed on a brain-dead woman with the consent of her family, according to lead surgeon Dr. Robert Montgomery. Doctors used a kidney taken from a genetically-engineered pig and transplanted it into the patient in a 54-hour experiment to see if animal organs can be used to save human lives, Montgomery says.
Following the surgery, the woman's body functions were "normal and equivalent to what is seen from a human kidney transplant," Montgomery says, adding the procedure turned out "better than I expected." 

    Photo Credit: Getty Images


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