World’s first living patient with transplanted pig kidney goes home from the hospital
The world's first man to receive a genetically-edited pig kidney has been discharged from the hospital.
Richard Rick Slayman, a 62-year-old individual battling end-stage kidney disease was sent home on April 3 after undergoing the historic surgery on March 16, Massachusetts General Hospital (MBH) said in a statement.
In a post on social media platform X, MGH, Harvard Medical School's largest teaching hospital in the US city of Boston said, “he is recovering well and will continue to recuperate at home with his family.”
“This moment – leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time – is one I wished would come for many years. Now, it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life,” Slayman said in a statement.
Slayman, a manager at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had been grappling with end-stage kidney disease in 2023 when his doctors proposed the possibility of a pig kidney transplant.
Conducted by Surgeons from the Mass General Transplant Center, the four-hour procedure used a pig kidney that had undergone 69 genomic edits, including removing harmful pig genes and incorporating human genes for improved compatibility.
Following the successful surgery, Slayman's kidney began functioning effectively, freeing him from the constraints of dialysis. While his doctors express optimism about the longevity of the transplant, they also acknowledge the uncertainties inherent in animal-to-human organ transplants.
“I want to thank everyone at Massachusetts General Hospital who cared for me before and after my historic transplant," Slayman expressed gratitude for the support he received.
While this is the first pig kidney transplant it is not the first pig organ transplant. This historic transplant is the third xenotransplant of a pig organ into a living human. The two instances were heart transplants. However, both patients died weeks after receiving their organs, a CNN report indicated.
Despite past failed transplants and risks associated with such procedures, Slayman's successful outcome offers hope to countless others awaiting organ transplants. “Today marks a new beginning not just for me, but for them, as well,” Slayman said in his statement.
According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, approximately 27,000 kidneys were transplanted in 2023, but nearly 89,000 individuals remained on the waiting list.
