内容摘要：This photo provided by Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers, shows two detainees used as human shields being held inside a house in the Gaza City area in 2024. (Breaking the Silence via AP)

This photo provided by Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers, shows two detainees used as human shields being held inside a house in the Gaza City area in 2024. (Breaking the Silence via AP)

Nearly three weeks after the kidney surgery the Chinese patient “is very well” and the pig kidney likewise is functioning very well, Dr. Lin Wang of Xijing Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University in Xi’an told reporters in a briefing this week.Wang, part of the hospital’s xenotransplant team, said the kidney recipient remains in the hospital for testing. Chinese media have reported she is a 69-year-old woman diagnosed with kidney failure eight years ago.

But Wang pointed to a potential next step in xenotransplantation — learning to transplant pig livers. His team reported Wednesday in the journal Nature that a pig liver transplanted into a brain-dead person survived for 10 days, with no early signs of rejection. He said the pig liver produced bile and albumin — important for basic organ function — although not as much as human livers do.The liver is a complex challenge because of its varied jobs, including removing waste, breaking down nutrients and medicines, fighting infection, storing iron and regulating blood clotting.“We do find that it could function a little bit in a human being,” Wang said. He speculated that would be enough to help support a failing human liver.

In the U.S. last year, surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania attempted that sort of “bridge” supportto a brain-dead human body to filter blood, much like dialysis for failing kidneys. U.S. pig developer eGenesis is studying that approach.

In China, Wang’s team didn’t remove the deceased person’s own liver, instead implanting the pig liver near it.

That “clouds the picture,” said Dr. Parsia Vagefi, a liver transplant surgeon at UT Southwestern Medical Center who wasn’t involved with the work. “It’s hopefully a first step but it’s still, a lot like any good research, more questions than answers.”over the Carolina Hurricanes that sent the Panthers back to a third straight Stanley Cup Final.

The Panthers lost forward Eetu Luostarinen in the first period of this Eastern Conference final game, though coach Paul Maurice said afterward he expected him to be fine with time off coming before a Cup series against the Edmonton-Dallas winner.Reinhart, Mikkola and Greer had missed Game 4 with injuries, a shutout loss Monday night at home that allowed the Hurricanes to avert a sweep and extend the season.

Reinhart saw 21:08 of ice time in this one and tallied two third-period assists. Mikkola saw 19:44 of ice time, though his giveaway in the neutral zone led to Carolina’s Sebastian Aho scoring a second time in the opening period. Greer played 4:22.Reinhart left Thursday’s Game 2 in the first period