Found an error?
Report now
The Chinese research team cleans the air channel of a pig's lung before transplanting it into a human.
Keystone
For the first time, researchers have transplanted a pig's lung into a human. According to a study published on Monday, the organ remained functional in the brain-dead man's body for nine days before the experiment was terminated at the family's request.
The Chinese team had transplanted the genetically modified left lung from a pig into a 39-year-old man who had previously suffered a brain haemorrhage and was considered brain-dead.
As the researchers report in the journal "Nature Medicine", the pig's lung developed severe edema 24 hours after the transplant. From the third day onwards, signs of rejection by the immune system appeared, which partially subsided on the ninth day, shortly before the experiment was discontinued.
According to the researchers, the results represent a first step towards lung transplants from pigs. However, Swisstransplant Director Franz Immer warns against false hope. "We will not be able to offer such transplants as standard in the next decade," he told Keystone-SDA.
25.08.2025, 17:00
