On Jun. 9, 2026, Chinese surgeons announced they have carried out the world’s first combined transplant of a gene-edited pig liver and two pig kidneys into a human recipient, a landmark advance in the rapidly evolving field of xenotransplantation.

The procedure was performed on a brain-dead patient at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in southern China. The operation was led by Professor Dou Kefeng, an academic of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and involved the simultaneous transplantation of a liver and two kidneys from a genetically modified pig, according to China’s Xinhua News.

The transplanted organs functioned for nearly five days without signs of hyperacute rejection, one of the biggest challenges in cross-species transplantation. Researchers said the liver produced bile while the kidneys generated urine and maintained stable blood flow, demonstrating coordinated function inside the human body.

According to the South China Morning Post, the trial was designed to assess whether multiple gene-edited pig organs can operate together in a human recipient, a crucial step toward addressing the global shortage of donor organs.

The donor pig had undergone multiple genetic modifications aimed at reducing immune rejection and improving compatibility with human recipients. Xinhua reported that the achievement builds on a series of Chinese xenotransplantation breakthroughs, including previous successful pig kidney and liver transplantation experiments.

Researchers said the latest procedure provides valuable evidence supporting the feasibility of multi-organ xenotransplantation.

While the transplant was conducted as a scientific study rather than a long-term treatment, experts say it marks a significant step toward the future clinical use of animal organs in humans, although challenges involving long-term survival and immune compatibility remain.