First: a temporary xenograft before a human graft

Xenografts may have finally found their purpose: a bridge to transplantation with a human organ. Several attempts at xenotransplantation, Several attempts at xenotransplantation, where an organ from another species is inserted into a human, have taken place in the last five years, but they have all ultimately failed. The cause is the immune rejection that attacks the new organ and which has yet to be completely suppressed. To avoid this rejection, organs from pigs genetically modified to "resemble" human organs as closely as possible are used. These efforts have succeeded in reducing the likelihood of acute rejection (when the organ is attacked immediately after transplantation), but sooner or later, the pig organ is recognized as an intruder and attacked accordingly. The possibility of using them as true alternatives to human organs is therefore still a long way off, but they could nevertheless save lives: researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University have shown the way, with the first case of xenotransplantation as a temporary measure while awaiting the availability of a compatible human organ. This first case was published on September 3, 2026 in The Lancet.

Xenografting still faces challenges as an alternative to human grafts