On March 6, 2025, the hospital completed Asia's first pig kidney transplantation on a 69-year-old patient. The kidney functioned well for 261 days in her body before it gradually deteriorated and complications emerged. The medical team removed the kidney, and the patient resumed dialysis. That time frame is the second-longest period that a pig kidney has functioned in a human patient before failure.

Based on previous experience, the team optimized technical procedures, immunity adjustment methods, and complication prevention strategies. Zhang's case shows that China's xenogeneic kidney transplantation has advanced from an initial breakthrough to a replicable and scalable clinical stage, experts said.

Academician Dou Kefeng said this groundbreaking study further verifies the safety and efficacy of clinical xenotransplantation. "With continued in-depth research in the future, xenotransplantation is expected to become a vital approach to addressing the organ shortage crisis," he said.