Pig kidney successfully functions in NY brain-dead man's body for 2 months

Doctors at a New York hospital have celebrated a new medical breakthrough as they were able to keep a pig kidney functioning healthily in a deceased patient, who had donated his body to science, for a full two months.

As reported by CBS News, surgeons removed the organ on September 13 to end the experiment, which started on July 14, and returned the donated body of Maurice Miller to his family.

According to the article, this marked the longest a genetically modified pig kidney has ever functioned inside a human body. By pushing the boundaries of research with the dead, the scientists learned critical lessons they’re preparing to share with the US Food and Drug Administration in hopes of eventually testing pig kidneys in the living which could save thousands of patients that enter the organ transplant waiting list annually.

“It’s a combination of excitement and relief”, Dr. Robert Montgomery, the transplant surgeon who led the experiment said. “Two months is a lot to have a pig kidney in this good a condition. That gives you a lot of confidence” for next attempts.

"What Mo has done by donating his body for research has allowed us to do this study, and that's a tremendous contribution to science," said Dr. Vasishta Tatapudi from NYU Langone Health said.