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Health169 outlets ran this2 min read

Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days

Transplant served as a bridge to a human organ, avoiding dialysis for Tim Andrews.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days

What this story says

  • A genetically modified pig kidney functioned in a human patient for 271 days, a new record.
  • The patient, Tim Andrews, received a human kidney transplant after the pig kidney failed.
  • The pig kidney acted as a bridge, enabling the patient to avoid dialysis.
  • Doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School published the findings in The Lancet.

Who covered it

Left 40%(30)Centre 24%(18)Right 36%(27)

Percentages are shares of the 75 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 94 of the 169 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

42/100

Craft

57/100

Hype

41/100

169 sources · methodology

A genetically modified pig kidney functioned in a human patient for 271 days, the longest period recorded to date. The patient, Tim Andrews, received a human kidney transplant after the pig kidney eventually failed. The pig kidney served as a bridge, allowing Andrews to avoid dialysis.

The results were published in The Lancet by doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. In a related experiment, pig kidneys worked for more than eight months without rejection in three out of five patients.

Coverage comparison

What the coverage left out

None of the left, centre, or right-rated digests mention the specific age of Tim Andrews, which was stated as 66 years old in some unrated digests. None of the rated digests mention the name of the pig kidney, 'Wilma', which was included in some unrated digests.

Tags:#Xenotransplantation#MedicalBreakthrough#PigKidney#OrganTransplant#HealthNews

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 4 Sept 2026, 20:30, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days
Evening StandardCentre
A man lying down hooked up to medical machinery
Daily MirrorLeft

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

30 rated outlets

  • Six left-rated digests reported on the pig kidney transplant. They highlighted the record 271 days the organ functioned and that it served as a bridge to a human transplant. Several mentioned the patient, Tim Andrews, and that he avoided dialysis. The publication in The Lancet and the involvement of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School were also noted. Some digests mentioned the pig kidney was nicknamed 'Wilma'.

Centre

18 rated outlets

  • One centre-rated digest focused on the record duration of nine months (271 days) the pig kidney lasted in a human patient before a successful human transplant. It stated the case demonstrates xenotransplants can bridge to human organs without sensitisation and that scientists have detailed data.

Right

27 rated outlets

  • Two right-rated digests reported that pig kidneys were successfully transplanted into humans in the USA. They stated that in three out of five patients, the organs worked for more than eight months without rejection. The reports also mentioned the involvement of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days?
Of the 75 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 40% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 36% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 169. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 75 rated outlets on this story, 40% are rated left, 24% are rated centre, 36% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days biased?
Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days is one event reported by 169 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Pig kidney functions in patient for record 271 days?
169 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
How long did the pig kidney function in the patient?
The genetically modified pig kidney functioned in the patient, Tim Andrews, for a record 271 days. This period allowed him to avoid dialysis while awaiting a human kidney transplant.
What was the significance of this pig kidney transplant?
This transplant is significant because it marks the longest a pig kidney has functioned in a human patient, serving as a successful bridge to a human organ transplant and demonstrating the potential of xenotransplantation.
Who published the results of this medical case?
The results of the pig kidney transplant were published in The Lancet. The study was conducted by doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Read it at the source

169 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

30
Show 22 more

Centre

18
Show 10 more

Right

27
Show 19 more

Not rated

94
Show 86 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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