Man Lives 271 Days With a Pig Kidney Before Receiving a Human Organ

A 68-year-old New Hampshire man has spent months living with an organ that came from a genetically modified pig, and his case has now set a record that could change how doctors think about the kidney shortage. Tim Andrews survived 271 days without dialysis after receiving the experimental pig kidney, eventually becoming the first person in this type of procedure to transition from a pig kidney to a human donor kidney.

Andrews had been facing end-stage kidney failure and believed he was running out of time when doctors offered him the experimental procedure. He agreed despite thinking he might die because he wanted researchers to learn from what happened. Instead, the kidney kept working long enough to give him a chance to receive a human organ, and Andrews now says he may have decades ahead of him.

The Experimental Kidney Kept Working For 271 Days

Andrews received the pig kidney on Jan. 25, 2025, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was 66 at the time and had been living with severe kidney failure. Over the following 271 days, he did not need dialysis, according to the hospital, before eventually receiving a human donor kidney. The case was described as the longest dialysis-free survival following a pig kidney transplant in a living person and the first documented transition from a pig kidney to a human kidney.

The procedure is part of a field known as xenotransplantation, which involves transplanting living organs or tissues from one species into another. Researchers have been studying genetically modified pig organs because the human immune system normally recognizes animal organs as foreign and can attack them. By altering specific genes in pigs, scientists hope to make their organs more compatible with human recipients and reduce the risk of rejection.

For Andrews, the experiment ultimately became a bridge to the transplant he had been hoping for. The researchers said his case shows that a pig kidney can potentially support kidney function while giving a patient additional time to wait for a human donor. That could become particularly valuable for people who face long periods on dialysis because a compatible human kidney is not immediately available.

Andrews Thought He Was A Dead Man Walking

When Andrews first began discussing the procedure with doctors in late 2024, he did not expect to live long enough to see the technology become common. He was willing to take the risk because he believed his situation gave him an opportunity to contribute information that could help future patients. “I didn’t think I was going to live through it, to be honest. But I wanted to do it for humanity,” Andrews said.

He described his mindset at the time in stark terms, saying he believed he was already approaching the end of his life. Andrews said he told himself, “I’m a dead man. I’m a dead man walking.” He then saw the experimental transplant as an opportunity to leave something behind, even if the procedure failed. “This is an opportunity for me to do something that most people don’t get an opportunity to do, and that’s to help humanity,” he said.

His conversations with Dr. Leonardo Riella, the lead author of the study, reinforced that approach. Andrews said he told Riella, “this is about learning something. I don’t care if I die, as long as you learn one thing (from this procedure).” Instead of becoming a short-lived experiment, the transplant produced a result that has now given researchers valuable evidence about how long a pig kidney can function in a living human.

Why Pig Kidneys Could Help Patients Waiting

The kidney shortage is one of the biggest obstacles facing people with end-stage kidney disease. More than 100,000 people are currently on the national transplant waiting list, with the vast majority waiting for kidneys. Patients can spend years relying on dialysis while hoping a suitable human donor becomes available, and some may become too sick to receive a transplant before that happens.

Researchers believe pig kidneys could eventually help close part of that gap. The initial goal would be to use them as a temporary solution, allowing patients to come off dialysis while they wait for a human donor. If future research shows that genetically modified pig kidneys can remain safe and functional for much longer periods, the organs could potentially be used as a longer-term treatment instead.

The potential benefits of xenotransplantation include:

• More time for patients: A functioning pig kidney could potentially keep a patient stable while they wait for a human donor.
• Less dependence on dialysis: Patients could potentially spend less time receiving dialysis if the transplanted organ performs enough kidney function.
• A larger organ supply: Genetically modified pigs could provide another source of kidneys for people who cannot obtain a human organ quickly.
• A possible long-term option: Future research could determine whether pig kidneys can eventually become more than a temporary bridge.

None of those possibilities means pig kidney transplants are ready for widespread use today. The procedure remains experimental, and researchers still need to understand how these organs perform over longer periods and how the human body responds to them.

Andrews Now Has A Human Kidney

After spending 271 days with the pig kidney, Andrews eventually received a human donor kidney. His recovery has reportedly gone well, and he says the new organ is functioning perfectly. “We could be talking decades (of life expectancy),” Andrews said. “It’s running perfect. I mean, the thing is perfect.”

The experience has also changed the way Andrews looks at ordinary life. He now talks about simple activities such as smelling flowers, swimming, riding a bicycle and fishing with a different appreciation. “Every day I wake up. I’m like, (this is) another (extra) day because I should have been dead a year ago or more,” he said.

There is also an emotional connection to the person who donated his new kidney. Andrews does not know much about the donor, except that he was a young man who enjoyed blueberries. Andrews had never cared much for blueberries during the first six decades of his life, but he now has an unexpected fondness for them. “To know that somebody died way younger and I’m living because of it, that’s pretty tough,” Andrews said. “I have this new kidney in me and I need to honor it.”

Other Pig Kidney Transplants Have Made History

Andrews’ case follows several other attempts to transplant pig kidneys into living humans. One of the most closely watched cases involved Towana Looney, who lived with a pig kidney for 130 days before doctors removed it after her body began rejecting the organ. She remains alive and on dialysis while hoping to find a matching human donor.

Massachusetts General Hospital also performed the world’s first pig-to-human kidney transplant in 2024. That patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman, lived for 52 days after receiving the genetically modified pig kidney. The hospital said he later died from cardiac causes unrelated to the transplant.

Andrews had followed Slayman’s case before agreeing to his own procedure. “I read about it and they told me he died, but he died of other causes, the kidney was still working,” Andrews said. “I said, ‘Huh, you know what? I think this might work.’” His own experience has now extended the previous record substantially and provided another piece of evidence for researchers studying animal-to-human transplantation.

Doctors Are Now Talking About A Shorter Timeline

Dr. Riella and the research team see xenotransplantation as a possible answer to the shortage of human organs. Their vision is initially focused on using pig kidneys as a bridge, helping patients get off dialysis while they wait for a human donor. Riella has also said that if long-term safety and durability can eventually be established, xenotransplantation could potentially become a treatment in its own right.

The timeline Andrews heard from doctors has already changed. When he first met Riella, he was told that the technology might take at least 10 years before becoming viable. Now, Andrews says researchers are talking about a much shorter period. “When we talked the first time and I met Dr. Riella, they were talking about at least 10 years, that it’s going to be at least 10 years before this becomes viable,” he said. “Now they’re talking about five years or less than five years.”

Andrews believes he may live long enough to see the procedure become more common. That would have seemed unlikely when he first agreed to take the experimental kidney. He entered the procedure expecting that his life might soon end, but the organ gave him something he had not expected: time.

The Record Could Give Other Patients More Time

The significance of Andrews’ 271 days is not simply that a pig kidney worked for longer than previous attempts. His case demonstrates a potential path between dialysis and a human transplant, giving researchers a clearer picture of what xenotransplantation might eventually offer patients facing long waits for donor organs.

For Andrews, the experiment has already produced a very personal result. He expected to sacrifice what little time he had left to help future patients. Instead, he received another chance to live it. The next challenge for researchers is turning that extraordinary case into a treatment that can safely give more patients the same thing: time.

Sources:

• Riella, L. V., et al. (2026). [Article on prolonged survival following porcine kidney xenotransplantation]. The Lancet. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(26)01295-X