first recipient A pig who received a genetically modified kidney transplant died nearly two months after the procedure, his family and the hospital that performed the operation said Saturday.
Richard “Rick” Sleiman underwent the transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in March at age 62. The surgeons said they believed the pork kidney would last at least two years.
The Massachusetts General Hospital transplant team said it was deeply saddened by Sleiman’s passing and offered its condolences to his family. They said they had no indication he died as a result of the transplant.
A Weymouth, Massachusetts man was the first living person to undergo the procedure. Previously, pig kidneys were temporarily transplanted into brain dead donors. Two men received heart transplants from pigsalthough both died within a few months.
Sleiman underwent a kidney transplant at the hospital in 2018, but had to return to dialysis last year when signs of failure appeared. When dialysis complications arose, requiring frequent procedures, doctors suggested a pig kidney transplant.
In a statement, Sleiman’s family thanked his doctors.
“Their tremendous efforts in performing xenotransplantation gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and the memories created during this time will remain in our minds and hearts,” the statement said.
They said Sleiman underwent the surgery in part to give hope to the thousands of people who need transplants to survive.
“Rick has achieved this goal and his hope and optimism will remain forever,” the statement said.
Xenotransplantation refers to the treatment of human patients with cells, tissues or organs from animals. Such attempts failed for a long time because the human immune system immediately destroyed foreign animal tissues. Recent attempts have involved pigs that have been modified to have organs that are more human-like.
More than 100,000 people are on the national transplant waiting list, most of them kidney patients, and thousands die each year before their turn comes.