Mixed results: Lung from a genetically modified pig transplanted into a human

[I]n the first procedure of its kind, Chinese scientists on Monday reported transplanting a lung from a pig into a brain-dead man.

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The Chinese scientists transplanted the left lung of a pig that had undergone six gene edits into a brain-dead 39-year-old man. Because the procedure left his functioning right lung in place, the experiment did not prove that the transplanted lung could sustain life on its own, critics noted.

The pig’s lung also suffered damage within 24 hours of the transplant. Signs of antibody-mediated rejection, which occurs when the body forms antibodies and attacks the organ and is the most common cause of transplant failure, were observed at three and six days after transplantation. Fluid buildup was also discovered in the lung.

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“If you put all the organs on a spectrum, the lung will always be the hardest to do,” said Dr. Leonardo Riella of Massachusetts General Hospital, who performed the first successful transplant of a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human.

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