In a groundbreaking medical achievement, Chinese physicians at Xijing Hospital in Xi’an have successfully administered a novel treatment to a liver failure patient using a genetically modified pig liver in an extracorporeal perfusion procedure. The patient has maintained stable vital signs for over two days following this pioneering intervention, marking a significant milestone in xenotransplantation research.
The innovative technique involves connecting the patient’s circulatory system to a porcine liver housed within an advanced mechanical device outside the body. This external organ support system, linked via the patient’s femoral vein, performed critical hepatic functions including detoxification, metabolic processing, and synthesis throughout the 66-hour treatment duration while the patient’s native liver remained intact.
Medical researchers employed a specially engineered pig liver featuring six strategic genetic modifications to minimize rejection risks. The sophisticated perfusion apparatus maintained precise environmental controls for temperature, pressure, and oxygenation throughout the procedure. Following disconnection, physicians observed substantial and sustained improvement in the patient’s liver function indicators.
Professor Wang Lin, Director of Hepatobiliary Surgery at Xijing Hospital, characterized the 50-hour post-procedure stability as “satisfactory” while acknowledging that longer-term assessment remains necessary. The technique offers a minimally invasive alternative to conventional transplantation, resembling dialysis methodology while reducing dependency on intensive immunosuppressive regimens.
This development addresses China’s critical organ shortage crisis, where current data indicates over 400 million citizens live with liver conditions and approximately 181,000 patients await transplants amid a severe supply-demand imbalance. The treatment provides temporary hepatic support for transplant candidates awaiting donor organs, leveraging China’s established infrastructure for gene-edited pig cultivation and perfusion technology.
The pioneering procedure was conducted under the leadership of Academician Dou Kefeng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with collaborative support from multiple medical institutions and ClonOrgan Biotechnology, a frontrunner in xenotransplantation research. Dou has hailed this success as a landmark advancement in clinical xenotransplantation with substantial potential for broader application.