How a family's choice to donate a body for pig kidney research could help change transplants

A sister’s choice to donate her brother’s body for research is helping doctors learn how to one day use pig organs to save human lives. Mary Miller-Duffy struggled with the decision after her brother’s sudden death but is glad she agreed. At NYU Langone Health, a pig kidney has worked properly in his body for over a month and counting — a record. Thousands of people die awaiting a transplant because of a dire shortage of donated organs. NYU's experiment offers important lessons as U.S. regulators consider whether to allow formal studies of pig kidneys in living patients.