More people need transplants than there are organ donors. Pigs might be a solution

The need for transplant organs is immense and growing. Some scientists think animal organs might be a good way to increase the supply. Advances in cloning and gene editing have led to breakthroughs.

Last summer, after more than a decade of illness, Lawrence Faucette and his wife, Ann, faced the hard reality that the end of his life was near. He was 58 and had end-stage heart failure. Peripheral artery disease made him ineligible for a heart transplant. After a particularly grueling week at the hospital, where doctors were unable to get his heart function where it needed to be, he decided he’d had enough. He chose to leave, figuring he’d rather die at home. But before he could go, one last doctor came to talk to him. For two hours, she went over what she was seeing and for the first time, Ann said, really giving straight answers about his condition. During that long conversation, the doctor asked an unusual question: Would they ever consider xenotransplantation? “Initially, we had no idea what they meant, but we were interested in anything,” Ann said.