A genetically modified kidney taken from a pig named Wilma has kept a 66-year-old man with kidney failure alive for a record nine months in a world-first procedure.

The organ successfully kept the patient, Tim Andrews, off dialysis and acted as a temporary "bridge" while he waited for a human transplant in the United States.

Andrews had been left seriously ill with end-stage kidney disease caused by type 2 diabetes, leaving him in critical need of an organ.

To understand why this approach was taken, you only have to look at the stark statistical odds he faced on the conventional organ waiting list.

According to reported figures, Andrews had just a 9% chance of receiving a human kidney within a five-year timeframe.

Against that low probability of finding a match, he faced a risk of more than 40% of either dying or deteriorating to the point of being removed from the list entirely.

Faced with those numbers, the transplant team turned to the experimental procedure using the genetically modified organ from Wilma.

The pig kidney managed to sustain Andrews and keep him entirely off dialysis throughout the full nine-month duration.

What the initial reports do not yet detail are the precise genetic edits made to the organ, or further specific updates regarding his subsequent human transplant progress.

For the wider medical landscape, demonstrating that an animal organ can reliably bridge the gap for nine months offers a tangible alternative for patients facing fatal waiting times.

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