Doctors report successful transplantation of pig kidneys into living humans. The patient is a 62-year-old man with end-stage renal disease.
The operation took place on March 16 and lasted around four hours. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the experimental surgery as part of a specific program for patients with life-threatening diseases. More than 100,000 people are waiting for a donor organ in the USA alone, according to the organization United Network for Organ Sharing. On average, about 17 of them would die every day.