A 62-year-old man from Massachusetts has become the first recipient of a genetically engineered pig kidney transplant. The surgery, performed at Massachusetts General Hospital, could herald a new era of hope for the hundreds of thousands awaiting life-saving organ donations.
For Richard Slayman, the transplant is a return from the brink after years of struggling with kidney disease and failed organ transplants. Having grappled with the discomfort of dialysis, including life-threatening complications, Slayman embraced a bold chance at renewed vitality.
“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,” the Weymouth resident explained after the four-hour procedure on March 16th. In the week since, his new pig kidney has taken remarkably well, with doctors optimistic he’ll soon be discharged, according to the statement released on the hospital’s official website.
Dr. Leonardo Riella, who led the pig kidney transplant surgery, told The Washington Post that they hope to make dialysis “obsolete”. Slayman’s primary kidney doctor, Dr. Winfred Williams, also added that,
“An abundant supply of organs resulting from this technological advance may go far to finally achieve health equity and offer the best solution to kidney failure — a well-functioning kidney — to all patients in need,”
The key breakthrough that allowed cross-species transplants was genetic engineering by the biotech firm eGenesis. Scientists employed the CRISPR editing system to meticulously modify the DNA of pigs, stripping away molecules that trigger attacks from the human immune system.
In all, CNN reported that 69 targeted tweaks were made to the donor pig’s genome while reinforcing pathways for bodily acceptance of the foreign kidney. Coupled with anti-rejection drugs, the procedure appeared to overcome one of transplantation’s most vexing hurdles.
While rigorous testing and monitoring remain, an alternative detour around the organ shortage may have materialized from innovative biology. For the hundreds of thousands tethered to dialysis machines, the promise of emerging xenotransplantation could soon rewrite their limited prognoses.
