US Man Makes Medical History After Living 271 Days With Pig Kidney

Tim Andrews, a 66-year-old man from the US, recently made medical history after living with a genetically modified pig kidney for 271 days. 

 

It is the longest time an animal organ has ever worked inside a human body.

Before the surgery, Andrews was suffering from severe kidney failure caused by diabetes.

 

The constant dialysis was exhausting, and waiting for a human donor was taking a heavy emotional toll.

 

When doctors offered him the experimental pig kidney, it gave him the one thing he needed most: hope.

Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital implanted the organ in January 2025, and it started working right away.

 

To prepare the pig, scientists made special changes to its DNA so the human body wouldn't immediately reject the organ or catch animal viruses.

The new kidney gave Andrews a nine-month break from dialysis machines.

 

Doctors had to tweak his medication once when his body showed early signs of rejection, but the organ kept going until October 2025.

 

Eventually, the blood vessels in the kidney became inflamed and it stopped working, though doctors are still studying the exact reason why.

After the pig kidney was removed, Andrews went back on dialysis for about three months until he finally received a healthy human kidney in January 2026.

 

Doctors say his new human kidney is doing great.

Using animal organs in humans a process called xenotransplantation is still in its early stages.

 

Thousands of people die every year waiting for donor organs, so researchers hope pig organs can eventually serve as a temporary bridge to keep critically ill patients alive until a human organ becomes available.