A first-ever experiment shows how pigs might one day help people who have liver failure

By The Associated Press

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have externally attached a pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood. The experiment is a step toward one day trying the technique in patients with liver failure. It’s also a different spin on animal-to-human organ transplants, which is also known as xenotransplantation. The pig liver was used outside the donated body, not inside. This is part of efforts to better support failing livers, much like dialysis for failing kidneys.