US EditionHe was tired of just surviving. A pig kidney gave him a shot at living
- Tim Andrews underwent an experimental pig kidney transplant in January 2025 at Massachusetts General Hospital to treat his end-stage kidney disease.
- He accepted this novel procedure after years on dialysis and facing a long human kidney waiting list of nearly 90,000 people with typical waits of three to five years.
- The surgery lasted about two hours and 15 minutes, ending early, and the pig kidney worked immediately, improving Andrews's blood markers right away.
- Andrews said, "This will do something for humanity," while doctors called the outcome a miracle and noted Andrews felt alive again and can do anything he wants.
- Although the pig kidney may only serve as a temporary bridge to a human transplant, this case offers hope for addressing the organ shortage through xenotransplantation.
5 Articles
5 Articles
Stewartville pig-to-human transplant facility to be complete in 2026
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — A very different kind of “hog farm” is being built by United Therapeutics Corp. on the edge of Stewartville to raise gene-edited pigs in a $110 million pathogen-free facility to harvest kidneys and hearts for transplantation into humans. Maryland-based United Therapeutics, a $14 billion pharmaceutical and biotech firm, paid $4.5 million to buy 32 acres in the Schumann Business Park in August 2024. Construction of the new 65…
He was tired of just surviving. A pig kidney gave him a shot at living
Tim Andrews knew that he needed dialysis to manage his end-stage kidney disease, but over months of treatment, he started to wonder whether it was worth it. Desperate for another option, he found a surprising alternative: an organ from a pig.
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