Animal organs could save people’s lives, but which patients should participate in trials?

Here’s an interesting article from Chicago Booth review. Probably my favourite out of its Fall 2025 issue.

One Way to Increase the Supply of Kidneys — Animal organs could save people’s lives, but which patients should participate in trials?

Gina Potthoff Kacik | June 2025

Background:

The National Kidney Registry estimates that a deceased-donor kidney from a human typically remains viable for 10–15 years after it is transplanted into another person, but no one yet knows exactly how long a xenokidney will last. In one study, a monkey survived for more than two years with a gene-edited pig kidney.

Pig kidney now, human one later

The research finds that more patients would survive longer if they were to receive a pig kidney but be prioritized for a human kidney if the first transplanted organ were to fail.

Research snippet:

The researchers built a model that considers the risks and benefits of xenotransplantation…The researchers fed it all available data from kidney transplant candidates, donors, and recipients between October 1987 and September 2021.

…

Someone waiting for a deceased-donor kidney might be wary of leaving the UNOS waitlist to receive a xenotransplant, so the researchers also modeled how different incentive offers might affect patient participation. According to the analysis, patients would be unmoved by an offer to remain on the kidney waitlist but be marked as “inactive,” even if that means they continue to accrue time and keep their place in line should they need another kidney.

However, granting trial participants the same priority given to people who have previously donated a kidney, or moving patients with a failing pig kidney to the top of the list to receive a human kidney, would increase the pool of trial participants, according to the research. These two incentive offers would require policy action from UNOS, Ata says.

Xenotransplant is rapidly improving, but who gets what and the mechanism still matters. Seems like a time where doctors and economists needs even more closer communication and mutual helps.