Head of Cell Biology and Nuclear Transfer, Todd Vaught, looks through a microscope as he injections genetic modifications into oocyte at the Revivicor Laboratories in Blacksburg, Virginia on November 22, 2024. On a farm in the southern US state of Virginia, David Ayares and his research teams are breeding genetically modified pigs to transplant their organs into human patients. Revivicor, the biotech company Ayares leads, is at the forefront of xenotransplantation research -- the implantation of animal organs into humans -- which aims to solve a chronic organ shortage that has thousands of Americans dying each year. It was on this farm that Revivicor bred a pig whose kidney was recently transplanted into patient Towana Looney, according to an announcement made Tuesday by a New York hospital. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)