http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0314/c90000-20289648.html

A multidisciplinary team led by Qin Weijun at Xijing Hospital, affiliated with Air Force Medical University in Xi’an, has transplanted a multi-gene-edited pig kidney into a patient with end-stage renal disease. The patient  was a 69-year-old woman who has battled severe high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic conditions for more than 30 years. Diagnosed with end-stage renal failure eight years ago, her only options were dialysis or a kidney transplant. Due to her high sensitivity to human donor antigens, no compatible human kidney was available, leaving her reliant on thrice-weekly dialysis. Her condition worsened after a stroke three years ago and a subsequent heart attack. Before the surgery, the hospital’s academic, medical ethics, organ transplant, and animal committees reviewed the protocol, with input from international xenotransplant ethics experts.

The kidney was sourced from Clonorgan Biotechnology Co in Chengdu, Sichuan province. http://www.clonorgan.com/

Upon restoring blood flow, the kidney turned a healthy reddish color and began producing urine. Six days after the operation, the transplanted kidney remained functional, with the patient’s serum creatinine levels returning to normal.

The surgery marks the world’s fifth such procedure and Asia’s first. It is also another clinical breakthrough for Xijing Hospital, which performed the world’s first successful gene-edited pig-to-brain-dead recipient xenogeneic orthotropic whole liver transplant on Jan 7.

In China, approximately 130 million people have chronic kidney disease.