Doctors at the Xijing Hospital of Air Force Military Medical University in Xi\u2019an, Shaanxi province, successfully transplanted a pig\u2019s liver into a patient. As of Thursday, the liver has functioned for over 96 hours, breaking the previous record.<\/p>\n
After a 9-hour surgery, doctors transplanted the entire liver of a multi-gene-edited pig into a patient who was brain dead. During the surgery, the liver began secreting bile after blood flow was restored, and no hyperacute rejection was observed, according to the university\u2019s WeChat account on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Tao Kaishan, director of the hospital\u2019s hepatological surgery department, said the transplanted liver has shown excellent bile secretion, blood supply and pathological results, surpassing the team\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n
Dou Kefeng, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at the hospital\u2019s liver and gallbladder surgery department, said the case showed that a pig\u2019s liver may be able to replace a human\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt represents a significant breakthrough in xenotransplantation and a crucial step forward for clinical application of xenogeneic liver transplantation,\u201d Dou said.<\/p>\n
China has about 400 million patients with liver disease, with 300,000 to 500,000 new cases of liver failure each year. For liver failure, liver transplantation is the only effective curative method, but in reality, many people lose their lives because they cannot wait for a liver donor, experts said.<\/p>\n