A man who made medical history by receiving both a pig kidney and, later, a human kidney transplant has opened up about what he went through—and why he believes the unusual procedure ultimately saved his life.
Few people can claim they were sustained by an animal organ, but Tim Andrews says that was his reality for almost a year.
The 67-year-old from New Hampshire had spent two exhausting years battling kidney failure linked to diabetes, as his health steadily deteriorated.
To replace what his failing kidneys could no longer do, Andrews relied on dialysis for six hours a day—a punishing routine that effectively filtered his blood for him.
After around six months tied to the dialysis chair, he suffered a heart attack, which pushed him to explore other options beyond the standard path.
He then read about a breakthrough case in 2024 involving a genetically modified pig organ transplant. Andrews says that discovery set him on a course that would eventually lead to him receiving a human kidney as well.
In a Facebook message to his human donor’s family, he wrote: “I am so sorry for your loss.
“I grieve with you. It’s got to tear you apart, but I’m here to tell you, the donation of a kidney has saved my life, and you have given hope to millions. Your family member is a hero. He’s a hero, not just to me, but to the entire world.”
He added: “I’ll never be able to repay you, but I promise you it’ll be in my heart. And it will be cared and loved for for as long as I live, and I will spend my life basically preaching, and I’m not a preacher, about what this love did.”
Andrews’ first transplant involved a pig kidney, something he looked into after reading about Richard Slayman, who underwent the procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Although Slayman’s transplant was initially described as a success, he later died following a cardiac event just two months later, according to the BBC.
Doctors said at the time that the transplanted kidney was functioning properly when he passed away.
When Andrews contacted the hospital to be considered for xenotransplantation—where animal organs are transplanted into humans—he was told he would need months of physical therapy first to lower the chances of rejection.
After completing that preparation, he underwent the three-hour surgery on January 25, 2025.
He was discharged a week later and instructed to take 51 different medications intended to protect the transplant and manage his immune response.
But months into recovery, the father-of-two began experiencing signs that his body was rejecting the pig kidney, which he had named ‘Wilma’.
The American Kidney Fund notes that rejection can come with symptoms including fever, fatigue, weight gain, ankle swelling, high blood pressure, and reduced urination.
Without rapid treatment, a failing kidney can quickly become life-threatening.
After living with the pig kidney for a record 271 days, Wilma was removed in October that year.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Andrews said: “For 271, days, we fought it and fought it and fought it.”
“I knew probably a week before they’re going to take it out, that she [Wilma] was done. She was done fighting.”
Once the kidney was removed, Andrews returned to dialysis—something he said left him feeling ‘sick all the time’.
Then, on January 12, 2026, he received news that a human kidney had become available—making him the first known patient to undergo a human transplant after an animal-organ transplant.
Even so, the recovery process has remained demanding. He is now taking 20 anti-rejection medications and closely monitoring his blood sugar because the transplant has affected his insulin production.
Still, Andrews has said he believes things will be ‘good’ soon.