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Surgeons perform the first transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney into a living human at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Michelle Rose/Massachusetts General Hospital hide caption
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Michelle Rose/Massachusetts General Hospital
Surgeons perform the first transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney into a living human at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Michelle Rose/Massachusetts General Hospital
For the first time, surgeons have transplanted a kidney from a genetically modified pig into a living person, doctors in Boston said Thursday.
Richard Slayman, 62, of Weymouth, Mass., who is suffering from end-stage kidney disease, received the organ Saturday in a four-hour procedure, Massachusetts General Hospital announced. He is recovering well and is expected to be discharged Saturday, the hospital said.
“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,” Slayman said in a statement released by the hospital.
The procedure is the latest development in a fast-moving race to create genetically modified pigs to provide kidneys, livers, hearts and other organs to help alleviate the shortage of organs for people who need transplants.
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“Our hope is that this transplant approach will offer a lifeline to millions of patients worldwide who are suffering from kidney failure,” said Dr. Tatsuo Kawai, the hospital’s director for clinical transplant tolerance, in the hospital statement.
Animal organs could ease transplant shortage
Several biotech companies are racing to develop a supply of cloned pigs whose DNA has been genetically modified so they won’t be rejected by the human body, spread pig viruses to people or cause other complications. NPR recently got exclusive access to a research farm breeding these animals for a company in this competition, Revivicor Inc. of Blacksburg, Va.
The kidney transplanted in Boston came from a pig created by eGenesis of Cambridge, Mass. The eGenesis pigs are bred with 69 genetic modifications to prepare organs for human transplantation. The changes protect against a virus known to infect pigs as well as delete pig genes and add human genes to make the organs compatible with people.
“We are grateful for the courageous contribution of the patient and to the advancement of transplantation science,” said Mike Curtis, chief executive officer for eGenesis in the statement. “This represents a new frontier in medicine and demonstrates the potential of genome engineering to change the live of millions of patients.”
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