Chinese surgeons have transplanted a gene-edited pig lung into a human for the first time, according to a study published in Nature Medicine on 25 August. The experimental procedure was carried out at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University on 15 May 2024, with the consent of the family of a 39-year-old man who had been declared brain-dead. The left lung, supplied by Chengdu-based Clonorgan Biotechnology, came from a Bama miniature pig engineered with six CRISPR edits to reduce immune rejection. After being stitched into the patient’s chest, the organ functioned for nine days without signs of hyperacute rejection, marking a milestone for xenotransplantation research. Inflammation and antibody-mediated rejection began to appear within 24 hours and intensified by the third day. At the family’s request, the study was ended on day nine, and the organ was removed. The patient received an aggressive immunosuppressive regimen, highlighting the challenge of balancing immune control with infection risk. Researchers plan additional trials in brain-dead subjects to refine the gene edits and drug protocols. Specialists unaffiliated with the work called the result promising but stressed that lung xenotransplants remain years from routine clinical use. Demand for organs is acute: while 8,236 lung transplants were performed worldwide last year, tens of thousands of patients remain on waiting lists.