Surgeons at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University have transplanted a gene-edited pig lung into a 39-year-old brain-dead man, marking the first documented pig-to-human lung xenotransplantation. The left lung, taken from a Bama miniature pig engineered with six CRISPR edits to reduce immune rejection, functioned inside the recipient for 216 hours without signs of hyperacute rejection or uncontrolled infection. The trial began on 15 May 2024 and was terminated on day nine at the family’s request. Imaging showed severe edema consistent with ischemia-reperfusion injury within 24 hours, while antibody-mediated rejection emerged on days three and six before partial recovery. Researchers employed an intensive immunosuppressive regimen combining antithymocyte globulin, rituximab, eculizumab, tacrolimus and other agents. Details of the experiment, led by thoracic surgeon He Jianxing and colleague Jiang Shi, were published 25 August in Nature Medicine. The team used the approach primarily to evaluate early immune responses and infection risk; the patient’s native right lung was left intact, so the life-supporting capacity of the pig organ was not directly tested. The study extends recent pig-to-human heart, kidney and liver trials and addresses a critical shortage of donor lungs: only 8,236 lung transplants were performed worldwide in 2024, leaving tens of thousands on waiting lists. External experts called the work a milestone but stressed that lung xenotransplantation faces unique hurdles, including the organ’s fragility and exposure to pathogens. The Guangzhou researchers plan additional transplants with more gene edits and refined immunosuppression to improve durability before any clinical use is considered.