Two recipients of gene-edited pig kidneys have since successfully received human kidney transplants — a milestone that helps answer a key question about the future of animal-to-human transplantation.
The company eGenesis reported that its patients, who received pig kidneys as part of an FDA-authorized expanded-access program, were able to later receive human organs without antibody complications. That matters: a major worry with xenotransplantation is that exposure to pig tissue might sensitize the immune system, making a future human transplant harder or impossible. These cases suggest that’s not necessarily so.
How the organs are engineered
eGenesis uses source pigs with 69 gene edits to make their kidneys more compatible and safer for humans. (A separate program, United Therapeutics’ UKidney, uses a 10-edit pig — six human genes added and four pig genes inactivated — and performed its first transplant at NYU Langone in late 2025.) The field is moving from one-off compassionate-use cases toward early clinical trials.
Why it matters
More than 100,000 people in the US wait for organs, most of them kidneys, and many die waiting. If gene-edited pig kidneys can safely serve as a bridge — keeping patients alive and healthy until a human organ becomes available, without ruining their chances of getting one — that could reshape transplant medicine. These are still very early results in a handful of patients, so larger, longer studies are needed to confirm safety and durability.