One man lived with a gene-edited pig kidney for 271 days, a record

Read why one man agreed to get a pig kidney in 2025 to replace his own failing organ

The 68-year-old New Hampshire man told USA Today that a motivator for the experimental surgery was his belief that he was going to die anyway, and other people suffering from kidney disease could gain valuable insights. Yet the surgery bought him time—he lived 271 days with a pig organ and later received a human kidney transplant. Clinical trials began in 2026 to test the pig xenotransplants in more people.

Scientists may have discovered why gene-edited pig kidneys are rejected in humans

In November 2025, researchers studying how a brain-dead donor’s body responded to the transplantation of a genetically engineered pig kidney, published that they’ve identified immune system reactions that may explain why these pig organs get rejected. What’s more, they were able to reverse the rejections with an already available drug combination and the kidney functioned well. They also pinpointed a way to detect a potential rejection up to five days sooner.

A first-of-its-kind clinical trial taps livers from gene-edited pigs to clean blood

The experimental dialysis-like treatment from United Therapeutics, eGenesis, and OrganOx, is designed to help people with liver failure. The therapy, which involves attaching the modified pig liver externally, filters a patient’s blood so their own livers can temporarily rest and perhaps heal.

Chinese scientists transplanted a pig lung into a human being—but it had to be removed

In August 2025, Chinese scientists transplanted a pig lung into a brain-dead person, a common research step for this type of experimental work. Researchers used CRISPR technology to alter six proteins in the pig genes to make the organ seem less foreign to the human immune system. Within a day there were indications the organ wasn’t functioning well and that the person’s body was rejecting it. Scientists ended the experiment after nine days.

Xenotransplants are an experimental last resort for the terminally ill

David Bennett Sr., the world’s first genetically modified pig heart transplant recipient, explained his reasoning to his University of Maryland Medical Center care team in 2022 regarding why he accepted a pig organ: He was dying and ineligible for a human heart transplant so this was a last-ditch effort, he said. He died two months after receiving the heart.

After the patient died, a latent pig virus was discovered inside his xenotransplant

Researchers studying the death of David Bennett Sr., the first gene-edited pig heart transplant patient, discovered potential factors that may have contributed to his demise. One finding is that there was a latent virus, called porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV), in the pig heart, which may have contributed to dysfunction of the transplant.

The first successful organ transplant was performed in 1954

The successful kidney transplant procedure, at what's now-called Brigham and and Women's Hospital, ushered in a new medical era and gave hope to patients with organ failure. The recipient, 23-year-old Richard Herrick, lived eight more years after receiving the donated organ from his living twin brother, Ronald.

In 1984, a dying infant lived for three weeks with a baboon heart

Pediatric-sized hearts are very hard to find. They're about the size of a walnut. When a premature baby girl was born with a fatal heart defect in 1984 her care team transplanted a 7-month-old baboon's heart into the patient. The organ was not genetically modified but still the infant lived for several weeks. This roughly hour-long documentary from the medical institution, features the patient's mother, clinician, and more discussing the controversial procedure and aftermath.

In 2024, the US had more organ transplants than ever before—besting the 2023 record

More than 48,000 organ transplants were performed in 2024, and about 46,630 were performed in 2023. These record highs are illustrated here as part of data from 1988 to partway through 2025. Kidneys, livers, and the heart remain the most common transplanted organs. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

White patients waited 374 days for a kidney—Black patients waited 727 days

A 2022 congressionally mandated report highlighted racial inequities in the US organ transplant system, including disparities that made it more likely white people will be placed on organ wait lists than Black people. It spotlighted inequities such as racial differences in median kidney wait times identified in earlier research. The report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, recommended fixes including that the Department of Health and Human Services develop national performance goals for the system and achieve equity in the system in the next five years.

Pig heart valves have been placed in humans since 1965

The first successful use of a pig heart valve in a human was reported in 1965. This 2015 video details why humans have been able to use pig animal valves for so long with good results and how that differs from what's needed for whole organ transplants.

A man with organ failure used AI to speed discovery of his miracle drug

David Fajgenbaum had a few months to live after a diagnosis with a rare form of Castleman's disease. By studying his blood, medical records, and broader literature, he was able to identify the cause of his condition and a treatment. He's been in total relapse for ten years.

How personalized gene-editing saved a baby's life

KJ Muldoon had a 50% chance of surviving a genetic mutation until doctors developed a one-of-a-kind gene-editing therapy. In an interview with one of the researchers behind the treatment, learn what it will take to make personalized genetic medicine possible for everyone.

Transplant organs don't always last a lifetime—that's where retransplants come in

How long a transplanted organ lasts depends on a variety of factors including the type of organ and the health of the recipient. Sometimes organs can last many decades, but other times people may need retransplants, which means another transplant following a previous one. Retransplants are most common with kidneys.

Watch this video letter (via Facebook) from a kidney recipient to his donor

A kidney recipient named Justin reads a letter he wrote to his deceased donor about how the person's generous kidney donation saved his parents from having to watch him suffer and his brother from having the pressure of perhaps being his only shot at a life-saving transplant.

Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson's mission to live forever

Johnson has invested millions of dollars into developing a biohacking program he believes will extend his life beyond typical expectations, relying on medical professionals to reduce his "biological age." Most notably, he drew significant public attention with reports of blood-swapping with his teenage son.

As of 2025, perfect synthetic replication of natural organs remains elusive

Advancements such as 3D printing muscles, performing vaginal reconstruction with colon tissue, and growing organs in a lab have shown promise, but artificial options and transplanting substitutions continue to exhibit functional and performance limitations compared to their natural equivalents.

The scientist that biohacked a buff frog

If a tree frog was injected with a DNA mixture containing follistatin, a gene that may influence muscle growth, would it become buff? Josiah Zayner hopes so. By learning how to biohack animals, he hopes people are one step closer to feeling more comfortable "whipping up DIY gene therapy."

England changed to an organ donation opt-out system in May 2020

A law that went into effect in May 2020 in England changed the country's organ donation regulations, reflecting public support for organ donation. Now, adults are typically presumed to have agreed to donate their own organs upon death unless they declare they're refusing to donate organs (or their family opts them out).

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

In a first, eye prosthesis has restored sight to macular generation patients

In a clinical trial, 27 of 32 participants with advanced macular degeneration regained enough vision to read books, food labels, and subway signs about a year after receiving a prosthetic retina device. This is the first device to restore functional vision to patients with incurable vision loss, though in this case they can only see in black and white, with no shades in between.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Ticks survived 27 years in a lab, including eight without food

Research published in 2022 set a new record for tick longevity. A group of adult African ticks that are normally found in eastern and southern Africa lived in a laboratory for 27 years, including eight without food. What's more, one of the females laid eggs at least four years after the last male died. Most ticks, on average, reportedly live for six months to three years.

See the first dog ever treated with insulin—a peptide

Frederick Banting and his graduate student Charles Best were the first to isolate the peptide insulin from dogs. They induced diabetes in the animals and then treated them with this peptide.

Tasting a lab-grown chicken nugget

Taste testing the first clean meat chicken nugget from a San Francisco company developing cultured meat. It’s chicken, but not as you know it.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation

Ewen snagged the win for "most balloons blown up in one hour by an individual" in 2011 with 582 balloons, and then reclaimed the title in 2017 with 910 balloons inflated in just 60 minutes.

Blood evolved many times over hundreds of millions of years

The earliest evidence of a blood-like substance comes from ancient arthropods, which appear to have had copper-based blood. In the 500 million years since then, some creatures have grown to rely on other variants, such as humanity's iron-based blood.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Experimental hantavirus vaccines and therapies, still under development, have long been funded by the US military.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

Against his wishes, Albert Einstein's brain was removed before his cremation, and the pathologist responsible stored it for decades in mason jars within a beer cooler.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

Urushiol, the oily toxin in poison ivy, can remain allergenic on clothing for years.

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.