Surgeons externally attached a pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood, a step toward eventually trying the technique in patients with liver failure. Now scientists are trying again with pigs whose organs have been genetically modified to be more humanlike. In recent years, kidneys from genetically modified pigs have been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors to see how well they function, and two men received heart transplants from pigs although both died within months. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSome researchers also are looking to use pig livers. In a statement, the Penn team reported that the donor’s body remained stable and the pig liver showed no signs of damage.

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Persons: Penn, eGenesis —, Parsia, wasn't, “, ” Vagefi Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Machines, Penn, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S