Xenotransplantation News and Research

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Pig kidney xenotransplantation offers a bridge for patients awaiting human donor kidneys

In January 2026, Tim Andrews, who had received a genetically edited pig kidney in January 2025, became the recipient of a human kidney.

3 Sep 2026

New research agreement funds xenoliver transplant center at Baylor

Baylor College of Medicine today announced that a new research agreement with United Therapeutics Corporation, a public benefit corporation, will provide up to $5 million a year for five years to establish the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Xenoliver Transplantation and Immunomodulation (XTI), dedicated to advancing scientific understanding of xenoliver transplantation.

10 Aug 2026

Medical breakthrough allows kidney transplant for patient with zero options

An international research team led by the Medical University of Vienna reports on a new treatment strategy that has made a kidney transplant possible for a patient with no realistic chance of receiving a suitable donor organ.

30 Jul 2026

Organ transplant survival rates improve despite persistent donor shortages

More adults are surviving both the wait for an organ and transplant surgery, but the number of people who need transplants continues to exceed the number of organs available, especially for kidneys, according to a national analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS).

4 Jun 2026

"Domino" heart valves from diseased organs could save thousands of children

A surgical innovation called partial heart transplantation could transform care for children with severe heart valve disease, allowing for thousands of additional valve transplants each year, according to a presentation delivered today by Joseph Turek, MD, PhD, at the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) 46th Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions.

24 Apr 2026

Lab-grown food pipe offers hope for children with esophageal conditions

Scientists from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and University College London (UCL) have created the first lab‑grown esophagus - the food pipe - shown to safely replace a full section of the organ and restore normal function, including swallowing, in a growing animal without the need for immunosuppression.

23 Mar 2026

Mussel-inspired adhesive prevents organ rejection

A new technology has been developed to suppress immune rejection, the biggest challenge in organ transplantation, without causing systemic side effects. A research team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and Ewha Womans University has developed the "Immune-Shield" technology, which directly sprays immunosuppressants onto the surface of organs using mussel-derived adhesive protein.

6 Mar 2026

Study reveals innate immune barriers to long-term pig kidney transplant survival

Pioneering research led by Brazilians describes the immune system's reactions in detail in the first living patient to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant.

8 Jan 2026

Current state, challenges, and future directions of heart transplantation in USA and Western Europe

In nearly 60 years, heart transplantation has transformed from a daring vision to an established surgical procedure. Since the first adult heart transplant in the United States was performed at Stanford Hospital in 1968, the field has made significant strides.

4 Dec 2025

Pig kidney transplant breakthrough uncovers immune rejection secrets

Researchers have uncovered and then overcome an obstacle that has led to the failure of pioneering efforts in xenotransplantation, in which an animal kidney is transplanted into a human.

13 Nov 2025

NYU Langone Health begins first clinical trial of gene-edited pig kidney transplants

The first surgery in a clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of gene-edited pig kidney transplants in patients with end-stage renal disease was recently performed at NYU Langone Health.

5 Nov 2025

Study reports the world's first genetically engineered pig-to-human liver xenotransplantation

An important new study in the Journal of Hepatology, published by Elsevier, reports the world's first auxiliary liver xenotransplant from a genetically engineered pig to a living human recipient.

9 Oct 2025

Study provides insights into the immune response following pig-to-human kidney xenotransplants

A pioneering study has provided unprecedented insights into the immune response following pig-to-human kidney xenotransplantation.

30 Jun 2025

Pig kidney transplant patient completes recovery and returns home

Three months after her breakthrough surgery at NYU Langone Health, Towana Looney, the longest-living recipient of a genetically engineered pig kidney, is headed back home to Alabama.

25 Feb 2025

ProCure On-Demand celebrates milestone with 500th transplanted organ

ProCure On-Demand's 500th transplanted organ, being announced today, is emblematic of the gaps and inefficiencies in the current transplant system that the organ recovery, technology and logistics company is regularly solving.

27 Jan 2025

Research from second pig heart transplant provides new directions for xenotransplantation

Continuing significant advancements in the field of xenotransplantation, surgeon-scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine provided an extensive analysis on the second patient in the world to receive a genetically-modified pig organ.

9 Jan 2025

Breakthrough pig kidney transplant ends dialysis for Alabama woman

An Alabama woman is free from dialysis and in better health after surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed a gene-edited pig kidney transplant last month.

17 Dec 2024

Accelerated neuronal development linked to intellectual disabilities and autism

The mechanisms underlying intellectual disabilities or autism remain largely unknown. Researchers in the labs of Prof. Pierre Vanderhaeghen and Prof. Vincent Bonin at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research and NERF have discovered that mutations in a gene called SYNGAP1 disrupt the prolonged development of human neurons, which is thought to be essential for normal cognitive function.

6 Aug 2024

Single-cell analysis reveals insights into immune responses during xenotransplantation

Surgical teams at NYU Langone Health performed the world's first genetically modified pig kidney transplants into a human body in September and November 2021, and then transplanted two pig hearts in the summer of 2022.

22 May 2024

NYU Langone surgeons perform first combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery

Surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed the first combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery.

24 Apr 2024