Chinese scientists have “successfully” transplanted the liver of a gene-edited pig into a 71-year-old patient with large right lobe liver cancer, official media on Saturday reported, dubbing it a first-of-its-kind medical procedure.

This is the world’s first liver xenotransplantation surgery of a living human and will become “one of the most significant breakthroughs in the medical field,” Global Times reported, citing a statement from the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University.

The surgery was conducted by Professor Sun Beicheng’s team at the First Affiliated Hospital on May 17.

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Seven days after the surgery, the patient can move freely without acute or hyperacute rejection reactions. There are no abnormalities in the coagulation system, and liver function has returned to normal.

During the surgery, the tumour in the patient’s right liver was resected. It was confirmed that the remaining left liver lobe was insufficient to meet the liver function needs of the patient.

Scientists transplanted the liver from a gene-edited pig into the right liver fossa of the patient. The surgery proceeded well, and bile secretion began immediately.