The company's research paper on xenotransplantation subclinical research was published in Cell Reports Medicine, China's first research paper on the topic.

Over the last few years, Sichuan Clonorgan Biotechnology has optimized donor pigs, and their results have highly impressed me, Buhler said.

It has developed a six-gene-modified donor pig line and performed a high number of preclinical trials for kidney and pancreatic islet xenotransplants, he said.

For kidney xenotransplants in particular, recipient animals have been shown to survive for several months, which is the longest survival achieved in China so far, he added.

Duan Chunxiu contributed to the story.