©Michelle ROSE / Massachusetts General Hospital / AFP
The first living patient to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the procedure, according to the US hospital that carried it out.
"Mass General is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman. We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant," the Boston hospital said in a statement issued late on Saturday.
In a world first, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in March successfully transplanted the genetically edited pig kidney into Slayman, who was 62 years old at the time and suffering from end-stage kidney disease.
[readmore "https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/science/2377362"]
Organ shortages are a chronic problem around the world and Mass General said in March that there were more than 1,400 patients on its waiting list for a kidney transplant.
The pig kidney used for the transplant was provided by a Massachusetts biotech company called eGenesis and had been modified to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes, according to the hospital.
Slayman, who suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, had received a transplanted human kidney in 2018, but it began to fail five years later.
When the hospital announced the successful transplant in March, Slayman said that he had agreed to the procedure "not only as a way to help (him), but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive."
In a statement posted on Mass General's website, his family said that while they were "deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick" they took "great comfort knowing he inspired so many."
More than 89,000 patients were on the national kidney waiting list, according to a US health department website.
On average, 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
Slayman's family also thanked the doctors for "their enormous efforts that gave our family seven more weeks with Rick."
"His legacy will be one that inspires patients, researchers, and health care professionals."
The transplantation of organs from one species to another is a growing field known as xenotransplantation.
About a month after Slayman's procedure, surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York carried out a similar transplant on Lisa Pisano, who had suffered heart failure and end-stage kidney disease.
Pig kidneys had been transplanted previously into brain-dead patients, but Slayman was the first living person to receive one.
With AFP
"Mass General is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman. We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant," the Boston hospital said in a statement issued late on Saturday.
In a world first, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in March successfully transplanted the genetically edited pig kidney into Slayman, who was 62 years old at the time and suffering from end-stage kidney disease.
[readmore "https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/science/2377362"]
Organ shortages are a chronic problem around the world and Mass General said in March that there were more than 1,400 patients on its waiting list for a kidney transplant.
The pig kidney used for the transplant was provided by a Massachusetts biotech company called eGenesis and had been modified to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes, according to the hospital.
Slayman, who suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, had received a transplanted human kidney in 2018, but it began to fail five years later.
'He Inspired so Many'
When the hospital announced the successful transplant in March, Slayman said that he had agreed to the procedure "not only as a way to help (him), but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive."
In a statement posted on Mass General's website, his family said that while they were "deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick" they took "great comfort knowing he inspired so many."
More than 89,000 patients were on the national kidney waiting list, according to a US health department website.
On average, 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
Slayman's family also thanked the doctors for "their enormous efforts that gave our family seven more weeks with Rick."
"His legacy will be one that inspires patients, researchers, and health care professionals."
Xenotransplantation
The transplantation of organs from one species to another is a growing field known as xenotransplantation.
About a month after Slayman's procedure, surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York carried out a similar transplant on Lisa Pisano, who had suffered heart failure and end-stage kidney disease.
Pig kidneys had been transplanted previously into brain-dead patients, but Slayman was the first living person to receive one.
With AFP
This Is Beirut
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