The first patient transplanted with a pig kidney is discharged in Boston
Time to Read: 3 minute
Richard Slayman is the first living person in the world to receive a kidney transplant from a pig and has now been discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital and continues his recovery at home.
The first man transplanted with a genetically modified pig kidney was discharged in Boston, two weeks after the intervention, The New York Times reported.
Richard Slayman, 62, was operated on by surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital on March 16 in an operation that lasted four hours, and after being discharged, he will continue his recovery at home.
In a statement provided by Mass General, Slayman thanked his supporters and asked for privacy as he continues to recover.
“This moment (leaving the hospital) today with one of the best health outcomes I've had in a long time) is one I've been looking forward to for many years,” Slayman said. “Now it is a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Breaking News: The first patient to receive a kidney transplanted from a genetically modified pig has fared so well that he has been discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, just two weeks after the groundbreaking surgery. https://t.co/j2cLIMfxLo
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 3, 2024
According to his doctors' report, the kidney that received Slayman “produces urine, removes waste products from the blood, balances body fluids, and performs other key functions.”
The result is an important milestone for medicine and makes it easier for patients to find organs, according to the medical center in a statement after the operation.
The organ transplant experiments Modified pig organs had failed even before Slayman's intervention. Two patients received hearts, but died shortly afterwards.
The surgery is considered a significant advance in xenotransplants, in which an organ from an animal is transplanted into a human. Many experts believe pig organs could help alleviate the shortage of human donor organs for patients who need transplants to survive.
Slayman, manager of the state transportation department in Weymouth, had lived with a kidney disease for many years, but on March 16, doctors transplanted a genetically modified kidney from a pig into his body, the first operation of its kind in the world.
“Never in my life “I never thought I'd ever see this happen,” Dr. Joren Madsen, director of Mass General's transplant center, told WBUR. ”We are all ecstatic that he did so well and is going home with a perfectly functioning pig kidney.
The scientists made 69 edits to the kidney to add human genes, remove porcine genes that could harm a human, and prevent the transmission of porcine viruses.
Kidney specialists hope the procedure will usher in a new era for patients with severe kidney disease by eventually eliminating the need for long-term dialysis treatment term.
Slayman was given medication to prevent his body from rejecting the pig's organ. But Madsen said there was still an unexpected complication. The patient developed fever, pain and swelling, indicating that his body's T cells, part of the immune system, were rejecting the transplanted organ.
For his part, in writing, the man also thanked to his doctors and to the people who have accompanied him and have been interested in his story.
Especially to patients waiting for a kidney transplant. “Today marks a new beginning not only for me, but also for them,” he said.
It is still uncertain whether Slayman's body will eventually reject the transplanted organ, and experts say that for xenotransplants to become widely available, more similar operations and clinical studies need to be carried out.