[Articles] Porcine kidney xenotransplantation as a bridge to allotransplantation: a first-in-human study

AI Summary

Porcine kidney xenotransplantation demonstrates potential as a bridge to human allotransplantation, providing durable renal support without significant sensitization or zoonotic infection. Early cellular rejection was manageable, though later microvascular injury led to graft failure, highlighting complexities in transplant immunology.

This case shows that porcine kidney xenotransplantation can provide prolonged renal support and be discontinued without clinically significant allosensitisation or zoonotic infection. Early cellular rejection resolved with treatment, whereas later graft failure was associated with microvascular injury progressing to thrombotic microangiopathy despite a negative donor-specific crossmatch, supporting the possibility that mechanisms beyond conventional antibody-mediated rejection contributed to late graft injury.