In a first, surgeons successfully transplant pig kidney to living patient

In a major milestone, a team of doctors successfully transplanted a genetically-edited pig (porcine) kidney into a living patient for the very first time.

The surgeons carried out the four-hour long operation on Saturday (Mar 16) on a 62-year-old man suffering from end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), said Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) on Thursday (Mar 21).

“The procedure marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients,” the hospital said in a statement.

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The hospital said that organ shortages were an occurring issue globally and over 1,400 patients were on the waiting list seeking a kidney transplant at MGH alone.

“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, a member of the team that carried out the operation.

Elucidating on the procedure carried out by the surgeons, the hospital said that the pig kidney which was used in the transplant was genetically edited to ensure harmful pig genes were removed from the organ.

It said that certain human genes were also added to it in order to make it fit for the human body.

The hospital stated the patient, Richard Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts, who had undergone the transplant, was "recovering well at MGH and is expected to be discharged soon".

Slayman, who also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension previously received a kidney transplant in the year 2018.

However, five years later, the organ began to fail and he had been on dialysis since then.

Slayman said that he okayed getting the pig kidney transplanted as it would not only help him but also generate hope for "the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive”.

“This health disparity has been the target of many national policy initiatives for over 30 years, with only limited success,” said Slayman’s nephrologist, Dr Winfred Williams.

“An abundant supply of organs resulting from this technological advance may go far to finally achieve health equity and offer the best solution to kidney failure – a well-functioning kidney – to all patients in need,” Williams said.

It is pertinent to note that recently pig hearts were transplanted into two patients in the United States. However, both survived only less than two months.

(With inputs from agencies)