Two pig kidneys have been transplanted into a human in a world-first operation.
US scientists showed the organs worked for more than three days during an experiment on a brain dead patient called Jim Parsons.
The 57-year-old already on artificial life support was a registered organ donor and his family had agreed to the pioneering op on his behalf.
Surgeons say within a decade other pig organs such as hearts, lung and livers could be given to humans needing transplants.
Senior author Dr Jayme Locke, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said: “This game-changing moment in the history of medicine represents a paradigm shift and a major milestone in the field of xenotransplantation, which is arguably the best solution.
“We have bridged critical knowledge gaps and obtained the safety and feasibility data necessary to begin a clinical trial in living humans with end-stage kidney failure disease.”
It comes weeks after the first pig heart was transplanted into a living US patient and three months after the first single kidney was transplanted in to another brain dead patient.
In this latest op ten key genes that would have led to the kidneys being rejected were knocked out in the genetically modified donor pig.
Mr Parsons’ ex-wife Julie O’Hara, and their children, Ally, David and Cole, made the decision, along with his sisters and mother.
Ms O’Hara said: “Jim was a never-met-a-stranger kind of guy who would talk to anyone and had no enemies - none.
“Jim would have wanted to save as many people as he could with his death, and if he knew he could potentially save thousands and thousands of people by doing this, he would have had no hesitation.
“Our dream is that no other person dies waiting for a kidney, and we know that Jim is very proud that his death could potentially bring so much hope to others.”
Kidney disease kills more people each year than breast or prostate cancer and pig organs could soon be given to patients suffering end-stage kidney failure.
Mr Parsons’ family gave permission for the four hour procedure to go ahead at the university’s Legacy of Hope Donor Recovery Centre.
The kidneys filtered blood, produced urine and, importantly, were not immediately rejected.
They remained viable until the study was ended, 77 hours after transplant.
Mr Parsons was a registered organ donor. He had longed to have his organs help others upon his death - but they were not suitable.
So he was maintained on a ventilator to keep his body functioning. His native kidneys were removed, and replaced with the pig’s.
Dr Locke said: “Mr Parsons and his family allowed us to replicate precisely how we would perform this transplant in a living human.
“Their powerful contribution will save thousands of lives, and that could begin in the very near future.
“Mr Parsons’ gift honours his legacy and firmly establishes the viability, safety and feasibility of this preclinical model. Because of his gift, we have proposed this to be known as ‘The Parsons Model.’”
The Food and Drug Administration in the US has approved the use of genetic modification of pigs for this type of research.
However rules in the UK are much stricter and would currently prohibit such work.
It involves the setting up of specialist facilities where pigs can be bred genetically modified to tweak, silence and add key genes that would reject key organs such as the heart and kidney.
The results pave the way for a Phase 1 clinical trial at Alabama for patients with end-stage kidney failure.
Dr Locke added: “A radical solution is needed for the organ supply crisis. The domestic pig is a promising organ source.”
Pig heart valves are already widely used in humans. The natural lifespan of a pig is 30 years, they are easily bred and have organs of similar size.
Genetically modified pig kidneys have been extensively tested in non-human primates.
The Mirror has campaigned for six years to increase organ donation and successfully lobbied the Government to introduce a “deemed consent” system in England in 2019.
The NHS Blood and Transplant says matching more human donors remains the priority for now.
A spokesperson said: “There is still some way to go before transplants of this kind become an everyday reality.
“While researchers and clinicians continue to do our best to improve the chances for transplant patients, we still need everyone to make their organ donation decision and let their family know what they want to happen if organ donation becomes a possibility.”
The findings are reported in the American Journal of Transplantation.
