A Japanese startup has announced plans to launch the country's first clinical trial of pig-to-human kidney transplants.

PorMed Tech, a biotech company spun off from Meiji University, plans to transplant genetically modified pig kidneys into patients with kidney failure.

The donor pigs have been genetically engineered to reduce the risk of organ rejection after transplantation.

The clinical trial is expected to begin as early as 2028 at Hokkaido University Hospital and Shonan Kamakura General Hospital.

In the United States, similar transplants have already been performed on four patients. One patient reportedly lived for about nine months without requiring dialysis.

Hokkaido University, which will participate in the trial, described the project as a historic step toward addressing the chronic shortage of donor organs for transplantation.