Pig Kidney Transplant: First Person to Receive Kidney from Genetically Modified Pig Dies 2 Months After Procedure

Pig kidney transplant as a novel medical procedure made it into the headlines earlier this year. It made a significant development across the medical community after the first human received an organ from an animal. It was in March 2023 when Richard "Rick" Slayman underwent the historic procedure and was implanted by a kidney from a genetically modified pig.

However, Slayman at the age of 62 years old died nearly 2 months after the procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital, according to a statement by local health authorities over the weekend. Prior to the transplant, the patient was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease in 2023, which opened the option for a replacement, functioning kidney through an animal organ transplant.

Pig Kidney Transplant Patient

Rick Slayman is the first successful pig kidney transplant patient, as mentioned earlier, but he suddenly passed almost 2 months after the historic medical procedure on March 16. However, there is no indication that the patient's death is related to or was the result of the said pig kidney transplant, according to the Massachusetts General Hospital's news release on May 11.

Back in March, the hospital announced the world's first successful transplant involving a genetically edited pig (porcine) kidney. The procedure was made possible when surgeons from the Mass General Transplant Center carried out the task for 4 hours. Not only that the transplant was a landmark procedure but it also strengthened the possibility of animal organ transplant or xenotransplantation.

Based on the recent media release, the Massachusetts General Hospital said that Slayman will be viewed as a "beacon of hope to countless transplant patients" around the world. It added that the trust and willingness of the patient will help in our progress in the field of xenotransplantation. Despite the announced success of the procedure, this type of transplantation remains experimental.

Chronic kidney disease, which is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and end-stage kidney disease, is the United States' 10^th leading cause of death, according to health authorities. In the US, data shows that 1 in 7 adults, or 15% of the adult population, which is equivalent to 37 million people, are estimated to have chronic kidney disease.

Animal Organ Transplant

This is not the first time that an animal-to-human organ transplant has been made, as seen in recent years. In September 2023, a patient with an end-stage cardiovascular disease underwent a pig heart transplant conducted by the University of Maryland's School of Medicine. The procedure is only the second historic transplant where a human received a genetically modified pig heart.

The first one was performed in January 2022 by the same University of Maryland Medicine surgeons. The recent pig heart transplant patient was suffering from pre-existing peripheral vascular disease and complications. This made the patient to be ineligible for a traditional human heart transplant, according to last year's news release by the Maryland university.