106,036 Americans are waiting for an organ transplant. 17 of them die each day. But what if we could give them pig organs?

From the Seventeenth Century to Modern Science

The first attempted xenotransplantation, or animal-to-human transplant, was done in 1667. Jean-Baptiste Denys gave sheep’s blood to a 15 year old boy who, somehow, survived the risky procedure. But two more of Denys’ patients soon died, and the procedure was banned.

Doctors continued to attempt xenotransplantations for centuries. They began to have some success in the 1960’s, with an American patient surviving 9 months post-op.

But it was not until the 2020’s that xenotransplantation truly accelerated. What changed was the invention of CRISPR gene editing.

The State of the Art in Xenotransplantation

Xenotransplantations are usually done with pig organs. There are lots of pigs around anyway and pig organs are about the same size as ours.

But humans tend to reject even human organs. Animal organs often face an even more intense immune response. What’s more, pigs have certain viruses called Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses (PERVs) that can be very dangerous to humans.

CRISPR lets us genetically modify pigs. We can take out the PERVs and make the pig organs more suitable for humans.

In recent years, genetically modified pigs have been the main source for xenotransplantations.

Pig Organs Save a Life

In January 2025, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital transplanted a pig kidney into Tim Andrews.

Andrews had end stage kidney failure. He had been on dialysis for over 2 years.

This operation was his only hope for a normal life.

Luckily, Andrews’ operation was a complete success. He was discharged from the hospital just a few days later, with his new kidney functioning just like a healthy human one.

Andrews is doing so well that in June, he threw the opening pitch at a Red Sox game in Fenway Park!

Scaling Up

This is an outcome beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. What if we could scale this up to all people who need kidneys and, eventually, all organs?

Several companies are hard at work to make it happen.

Companies like eGenesis and United Therapeutics are producing genetically modified pigs. Those pigs are the source for xenotransplantations. eGenesis provided the kidney for the Andrews transplant.

In February, the FDA approved a clinical trial by United Therapeutics to evaluate its pig organs in humans. I can’t wait to see the results!

Wrap-Up

I imagine a future with farms full of genetically modified pigs. When one of your organs breaks down, you just check into the nearest hospital and they get you a fresh, new one from the farm.

Humans could live decades longer if we master xenotransplantation. And we’re closer than ever.

I’m excited to meet startups working on genetically modified pigs and xenotransplantation. If that’s you, let me know!

More on tech:

Meet My Latest Investment: Zeon Systems

Is Biotech Having its ChatGPT Moment?

How We Can Rewrite Our Genetic Blueprint

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