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Universal Organ Transplants and Xenotransplantation Waiting Years for a Kidney Transplant
New sources of organs for people waiting on a transplant list: gene-edited pig organs and donor organs converted to a universal blood type. Meet the programs exploring them and choose the ones you want.
Investigational
Xenotransplantation and universal donor organs are investigational and available only through clinical trials or FDA-authorized expanded access.
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What Is Xenotransplantation?
Xenotransplantation means transplanting an organ from another species. Pigs are used because their organs are close in size to ours. Their genes are edited to remove what would trigger immediate rejection, add human genes that help the organ get along with the body and inactivate certain pig viruses. Kidneys are furthest along.
Universal donor organs start with a human organ from a donor. Enzymes are used to remove the blood-type markers from it, aiming to make it compatible with recipients of any blood type. That could help people who wait longest because of their blood type.
Conditions It’s Used or Studied For
Kidney Failure
End-Stage Kidney Disease on Dialysis
Long Waits for a Matching Organ
Heart and Liver Failure (Research)
Only your physician can say whether it is right for you.
Before You Match
What to Know
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It Is Investigational
These transplants are offered only through clinical trials or FDA-authorized expanded access, at a few transplant centers.
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Eligibility Is Narrow
Early studies often enroll people who are unlikely to receive a human organ in time. Each program sets its criteria.
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Lifelong Monitoring
Recipients are followed closely, including for infection and rejection, for the rest of their lives.
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Stay on Your Waitlist
Ask how taking part would affect your place on the human organ waiting list.
More About Xenotransplantation
Health e Match summarized this information from the sources listed below. It is general information, not medical advice.
Who Is a Candidate?
Pig kidney transplants are available only through FDA-authorized trials or expanded access. Early studies enroll adults with kidney failure on dialysis who are unlikely to receive a human kidney in a reasonable time, often within a set age range and with other specific criteria.
Universal donor organs, human organs converted to a universal blood type, are still at the research stage.
What to Expect
The surgery itself is similar to a standard kidney transplant and takes several hours. It is combined with strong anti-rejection medicines, which in studies may include experimental drugs.
Expect an extended hospital stay and very close monitoring after the operation.
Recovery and Follow-Up
Recipients typically stay in or near the hospital for weeks, with frequent blood tests and sometimes kidney biopsies. Anti-rejection medicine is lifelong, as with any transplant.
Xenotransplant recipients are also monitored long-term for infections that could pass from the pig organ.
Risks and Side Effects
Risks include rejection of the organ, infection, surgical complications and side effects of anti-rejection medicines. The kidney may stop working, in which case dialysis would resume. Because few people have received these organs, long-term outcomes are not yet known.
Cost and Insurance
Trial-related costs are generally covered by the study. Ask what is covered for the transplant, the hospital stay, travel and lodging, and long-term follow-up.
Choosing a Practice
Questions worth asking in your first conversation:
- Is your xenotransplant study enrolling, and who is eligible?
- What does the evaluation involve?
- How would taking part affect my place on the human organ waiting list?
- What support do you provide for recipients and caregivers?
Alternatives to Consider
Alternatives include continuing dialysis, in a center or at home, and pursuing a human kidney transplant from a deceased or living donor. Paired kidney exchange programs and listing at more than one transplant center can shorten the wait for some people.
Sources
Find a Practice That Offers It
Searching for xenotransplantation usually means a long list of names and no way to tell who actually offers it. Here, you meet verified practices that treat what you listed, and you decide who to talk to.
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Questions
What Patients Ask
Is xenotransplantation FDA-approved?
No. Pig organ transplants are investigational and available only through FDA-authorized clinical trials or expanded access.
What is a universal donor organ?
A human donor organ treated to remove its blood-type markers, so it might be given to someone of any blood type. It is at an early research stage.
Will I have to take anti-rejection medicine?
Yes. Recipients of any transplant, including a xenotransplant, take medicines to prevent rejection. Ask what the regimen involves.
What should I list on my profile?
Your diagnosis, whether you are on dialysis, how long you have been on a waitlist, and that you are exploring new transplant options.
Start Matching Today
Build a free profile in minutes. List what you’re living with and that you’re exploring xenotransplantation, and meet the practices that treat it.
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This page is general information, not medical advice, and it was last updated October 15, 2026. healthematch.com makes introductions between patients and practices in the United States. It does not provide medical care, does not enroll anyone in clinical research, and does not recommend any particular procedure or provider. Where a practice has documented a therapy’s regulatory status, it is shown exactly as documented. Are you a practice? See the xenotransplantation page for practices.