BOSTON — A retired New Hampshire grocery store manager who once believed he was staring death in the face has become the longest-surviving recipient of a pig kidney transplant, living 271 days without dialysis before ultimately receiving a human kidney earlier this year, according to findings published Thursday in The Lancet medical journal.

Tim Andrews, 68, of Barrington, New Hampshire, first began discussing the experimental procedure with doctors in late 2024, when he was suffering from end-stage kidney failure and believed his time was running out.

"I didn't think I was going to live through it, to be honest. But I wanted to do it for humanity," Andrews told NBC News.

Andrews said the weight of his diagnosis prompted a moment of reflection that ultimately convinced him to pursue the experimental transplant, even without confidence he would survive it.

"I realized, OK, I'm a dead man. I'm a dead man walking," Andrews said. "So I said to myself, 'What have I done? What have I done with my life? This is an opportunity for me to do something that most people don't get an opportunity to do, and that's to help humanity.'"

Andrews said he was candid with Dr. Leonardo Riella, director of kidney transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital and the study's lead author, about his motivations heading into the procedure.

"This is about learning something. I don't care if I die, as long as you learn one thing," Andrews recalled telling Riella.

Andrews received the pig kidney transplant on Jan. 25, 2025, at age 66, through Mass General Brigham in Boston, making him part of an........

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