Doctors in Boston have successfully transplanted a pig kidney into a 62-year-old patient, marking the first instance of a genetically modified pig kidney being transplanted into a living person, Associated Press reports.
The patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman, is recovering well from the surgery and is expected to be discharged soon. The pig kidney used was genetically edited to remove harmful pig genes and incorporate certain human genes to enhance compatibility. The medical team involved believes the pig kidney will function for at least two years, after which Slayman may need to resume dialysis if it fails.
Xenotransplantation, the use of animal organs in humans, holds promise for addressing the critical shortage of donor organs, with more than 100,000 people on the national waiting list for transplants. Experts view this achievement as a significant step forward but emphasize the need for further studies involving more patients before such procedures become widely available.
Previous experiments involved temporary pig kidney transplants into brain-dead donors, and two men received pig heart transplants, although both died within months.
