Asked whether a pig kidney transplant is allowed under Islam, Ayatollah Sistani responded that it is permissible.
The remark comes days after a U.S. man with a life-threatening disease received a heart from a genetically modified pig in a groundbreaking eight-hour surgery.
The 57-year-old patient has been doing well after the operation on Friday.
The breakthrough has been giving hope to a very large number of patients with failing organs worldwide amid an acute shortage of organs available for transplantation.