BOSTON ‒ Tim Andrews was so close to death, he was ready to risk what little life he might have left.
The retired grocery store manager was told he would have to wait five years before reaching the top of the transplant list and qualifying for a new, life-saving kidney. He knew he wasn't going to make it. Already he could no longer walk or hold down food.
So last year, he volunteered for an experimental surgery at the leading edge of scientific research: He agreed to get a pig kidney to replace his own failing organ.
"I'm gonna die anyways, why wouldn't I do something for all these [other people with kidney disease] that are suffering?" said Andrews, of Concord, New Hampshire.
"I don't care if I die the next day as long as you learn something," he told his doctor.
