A pig kidney has been transplanted into a living person for the first time ever

Surgeons have transplanted a kidney from a genetically modified pig into a living person for the first time. 

Richard Slayman, 62, who was suffering from end-stage kidney disease, was given the organ during a four-hour operation.

Doctors in Boston said he is recovering well and is expected to be discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital soon. 

‘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,’ Mr Slayman said in a statement.

It’s a milestone in the field of xenotransplantation – or animal-to-human transplant – which could offer hope to people on the waiting list for organ transplants worldwide. 

It’s not the first time a pig’s organs have been transplanted into a human.

The procedure is risky. In the US there have been two pig-to-human heart transplants but in both cases, the patients lived for no more than two months. 

However, so far there have been no signs that Mr Slayman’s immune system is rejecting the kidney.

Pharmaceutical company eGenesis created the kidney and contained a total of 69 gene edits, ten of which were made to reduce the risk of rejection.

The 59 other edits were made to lower the risk of infection from viruses.

‘The success of this transplant is the culmination of efforts by thousands of scientists and physicians over several decades,’ said Dr Tatsuo Kawai, a member of the surgical team. 

‘We are privileged to have played a significant role in this milestone. Our hope is that this transplant approach will offer a lifeline to millions of patients worldwide who are suffering from kidney failure.’

Mr Slayman had previously received a kidney transplant from a deceased human donor in 2018 after having been on dialysis for seven years, but the transplant showed signs of failure last year, and he resumed dialysis.

Mike Curtis, Chief Executive Officer, eGenesis said: ‘We are grateful for the courageous contribution of the patient and to the advancement of transplantation science

‘We congratulate our collaborators at MGH on this historic milestone. We also recognize the work and dedication of the eGenesis team that made this achievement possible. 

‘This represents a new frontier in medicine and demonstrates the potential of genome engineering to change the lives of millions of patients globally suffering from kidney failure.’