The first person ever to get a kidney transplant from a pig was just freed from the hospital. Richard “Rick” Slayman is 62 years old and has kidney disease that has reached the end stage. He no longer needs dialysis because of surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, which is Harvard Medical School’s main teaching hospital. A pig kidney was given to him.
Before Slayman got his kidney transplant from a pig, he had to go through a lot. He was told that his kidneys were failing, which meant they could not work. He then had to go on dialysis for seven years before he got his first transplant from a person.
This worked for five years until the given kidney stopped working. He could get the pig kidney from Genesis at this point. It was called a “gene-edited” pig kidney.
“I’m leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time,” Slayman said. He also said it was the best day of his life. A xenotransplantation is the name of the operation he saw.
“I want to thank everyone who has seen my story and sent me well wishes, especially the people who are waiting for a kidney transplant,” Slayman said. Today is a fresh start for both me and them.
This process is a big step forward that could make it easier for more people to get organs and transplants. In the United States, there is a huge lack of organs. These treatments could help people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to get an organ transplant.