Surgeons at a Massachusetts hospital have transplanted the kidney of a genetically modified pig into a human recipient, in a medical milestone that could help thousands suffering from kidney failure.
Doctors at the Massachusetts General Transplant Center in Boston performed the four-hour surgery using a genetically edited pig kidney, the hospital said.
Surgeons overseeing the procedure have called the transplant a “success”, with the patient expected to be discharged soon.
“The success of this transplant is the culmination of efforts by thousands of scientists and physicians over several decades,” said Dr Tatsuo Kawa, the director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance at Massachusetts general hospital (MGH).
“Our hope is that this transplant approach will offer a lifeline to millions of patients worldwide who are suffering from kidney failure,” he added.
For more than five years, scientists at MGH and the biotechnology company eGenesis collaborated on the genetically edited kidney for transplant.
Researchers removed harmful pig genes from the animal kidney and inactivated retroviruses in the pig donor that could potentially cause infections in humans. Scientists also added human genes into the kidney to increase its compatibility with any human recipients.
On 16 March, Richard Slayman received the genetically modified kidney. Slayman, 62, had been living with end-stage kidney disease, the final stage of renal failure when the kidneys have stopped functioning.
When his kidneys first started failing he was placed on dialysis for seven years, then received a kidney transplant in 2018, but had to resume dialysis in May 2023 after the donated kidney stopped functioning. He suffered complications from dialysis including several blood clots that required hospitalization and surgery.
Slayman said MGH doctors carefully explained the procedure to him, a surgery that he felt was bigger than just himself.
“I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” he said in a statement.
He is recovering well, MGH doctors told the New York Times, saying the transplanted kidney is making urine and Slayman has been able to stop dialysis and walk around the hospital.
“He looks like his own self. It’s remarkable,” said Dr Winfred Williams of MGH.
Animal organ transplants into humans, also known as xenotransplantation, could offer hope to thousands of people still awaiting organ donations. More than 100,000 people in the US are waiting on organ transplants, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which oversees the US organ transplant system. Kidneys are the most requested organ for transplant.
Previous xenotransplantations have been risky. Two patients with advanced stages of illness received heart transplants from pigs in 2022 and 2023, but both died shortly after the procedures.
