The Vatican has announced that Catholics may receive organ transplants from animals, according to new guidance from the Holy See.

The statement represents official church doctrine on xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting organs or tissues from animals into humans. This medical procedure has been under development as researchers seek to address critical organ shortages.

The Vatican's position provides clarity for Catholic patients and medical professionals who may have had questions about the church's stance on receiving animal organs for life-saving transplant procedures.

Xenotransplantation remains largely experimental, though scientific advances in recent years have brought the possibility of animal-to-human organ transplants closer to clinical reality. Pigs are considered the most promising source for potential organ donations to humans due to physiological similarities.