Behind the first successful pig-to-human kidney transplant

Late last month, Richard Slayman became the first person in history to successfully undergo an organ transplantation of a genetically modified pig kidney.

While human-to-animal transplant, or xenotransplantation, isn't new (heart valves from horses, cows and pigs having been used for over 30 years), cases of entire organ transplants are incredibly complex, while raising a host of other ethical and health concerns.

So how significant is the recent pig kidney transplant, where are we at with this science, and could this one day be our go-to solution for those in desperate need of an organ transplant?

To explain the science of xenotransplantation, Bension Siebert is joined by Wayne Hawthorne, professor of transplantation at the University of Sydney.

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