Massachusetts: Pig Kidney Transplanted To Human Patient As Experts Develop Genetically-Engineered Pigs

In Massachusetts, a pig kidney was transplanted into a human patient. The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which is a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system, announced the world's first successful transplant of a genetically-edited pig (porcine) kidney into a 62-year-old man living with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).

Major Milestone

The hospital said that surgeons from the Mass General Transplant Center conducted the four-hour-long surgery last Saturday, March 16. Physicians noted that the procedure marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients.

Mass General Brigham is considered as an internationally recognized leader in transplantation services, providing advanced care for a wide spectrum of organ and tissue transplants throughout its renowned academic medical system.

Under the leadership of Leonardo V. Riella, MD, PhD, Medical Director for Kidney Transplantation, Tatsuo Kawai, MD, PhD, Director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance, along with Nahel Elias, MD, Interim Chief of Transplant Surgery and Surgical Director for Kidney Transplantation, the genetically-edited pig kidney with 69 genomic edits was successfully transplanted into a living patient.

Officials said that the pig kidney was provided by eGenesis of Cambridge, Mass., from a pig donor that was genetically-edited using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans.

Additionally, scientists inactivated porcine endogenous retroviruses in the pig donor to eliminate any risk of infection in humans.

Failed Transplant

The patient, Richard 'Rick' Slayman of Weymouth, Mass., is presently recovering well at the MGH and he is expected to be discharged soon.

Slayman said that when his transplanted kidney began failing in 2023, he again trusted his care team at MGH to meet the goals of not just improving his quality of life but even extending it.

Slayman mentioned that the transplanted kidney showed signs of failure approximately five years later and he had resumed dialysis in May 2023.

Since resuming dialysis, he encountered recurrent dialysis vascular access complications requiring visits to the hospital every two weeks for de-clotting and surgical revisions. This then significantly impacted his quality of life, which is a common problem among dialysis patients.

To recall, Mass General Brigham has a rich history in organ transplant innovation, including the world's first successful human organ transplant (kidney) performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1954 as well as the nation's first penile transplant that was performed at MGH in 2016.

Mass General Brigham transplantation programs draw upon the deep, integrated expertise of some of the world's leading transplant physicians and scientists who collaborate across experienced multidisciplinary teams to advance medicine and improve the lives of patients.

"Mass General Brigham researchers and clinicians are constantly pushing the boundaries of science to transform medicine and solve significant health issues facing our patients in their daily lives," said Anne Klibanski, MD, President and CEO, Mass General Brigham.

She said that nearly seven decades after the first successful kidney transplant, the clinicians have once again demonstrated the institution's commitment to provide innovative treatments and help ease the burden of disease for our patients and others around the world.

Meanwhile, David F. M. Brown, MD, president of the Academic Medical Centers of the Mass General Brigham, said the tireless commitment of its clinicians, researchers and scientists to improving the lives of our transplant patients - both current and future - is at the very heart and soul of academic medicine.

"We are so thankful to the incredible staff throughout our hospitals who helped make this surgery a success, and to the patient for his bravery and courage,'' Brown said.