A local biotech firm says it has produced the world's first cloned pig with transformed cells that can prevent immuno-rejection in organ transplants, raising hope for an eventual cure for diabetes.

MGenbio on Wednesday said one of five pigs containing the HLA-G gene that it cloned with the National Livestock Research Institute survived and is receiving care.

Research team leader Park Kwang-wook said the ordinary islet cells of pigs normally die after their transplant into humans, but those carrying human immuno-genes survive.

The team has already filed for patents on their results at home and abroad and will submit a thesis to international journals.

Immuno-rejection is a major hurdle in organ transplants since the human immune system attacks organs from the outside as a virus.