Surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York have made medical history by successfully transplanting a modified pig kidney into a living person for the second time. The groundbreaking procedure was performed on 54-year-old Lisa Pisano, who was battling heart failure and end-stage kidney disease.
Pisano had just weeks to live before the transplant took place. In order to prepare her body for the surgery, surgeons implanted a mechanical heart pump. This was a necessary step in ensuring the success of the operation.
What makes this transplant truly remarkable is that it involved not only a gene-edited kidney from a pig but also the pig’s thymus gland. Dr. Robert Montgomery, the lead surgeon on the team, believes that this operation is a major milestone in the field of transplant medicine.
The first-ever pig kidney transplant into a living patient was carried out in March at Massachusetts General Hospital. Xenotransplants, as these procedures are known, hold great promise for patients in need of organ transplants due to a shortage of human donors.
While previous attempts at xenotransplantation have had mixed results, Pisano’s case is looking very promising. Almost two weeks after the surgery, she has shown no signs of organ rejection, and her kidney function is reported to be perfect.
Pisano had exhausted all other options before deciding to undergo this risky procedure. Her bravery and the skill of the medical team at NYU Langone Health have given hope to many others in similar situations. The success of this second pig kidney transplant brings us one step closer to making life-saving organs available to all who need them.
