(Undated) -- New research using pig hearts as transplant organs could pave the way for their use in the future. Doctors in New York transplanted pig hearts into two patients who were left brain dead on life support and saw the hearts continue to function for the entire duration of the three-day experiment. This was a stark difference than last year, when a living patient was given a pig heart transplant that failed 49 days later. The doctors hope to use this method of transplanting pig organs into brain dead patients to learn how the human body reacts. With more experimentation, researchers believe modified pig organs could be a way to deal with the organ donation shortage in the U.S.