Another day, another xenotransplant, as United Therapeutics looks to beat competitors to sci-fi-esque breakthrough

Now, another group is planting a flag in the xenotransplantation field. Surgeons at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said Thursday they have achieved the first kidney transplant from a pig to a brain-dead patient, publishing their peer-reviewed findings online. The team, aiming to differentiate itself from the others through the genetic modifications used, is hoping there’s now enough research to soon begin clinical xenotransplantation studies.