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World’s first patient to receive pig kidney dies 2 months after transplant
Re write by Ahmad Ayuba
Reports from the USA say that, Rick Slayman, the world’s first human to receive a transplant of a genetically-edited pig kidney has died almost two months after the operation.
The 62-year-old who had been living with an end-stage renal disease underwent the phenomenal operation last March at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
A statement by the hospital said, Mr Slayman’s death was.not linked to the transplant.“We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant,”
The operation was a milestone in xenotransplantation – the transplantation of organs or tissues from one species to another – as a potential solution to the worldwide organ shortage, the hospital said at the time.
In their own reaction to his passing, Slayman’s family said: “Out family is deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick but take great comfort knowing he inspired so many.”
READ ALSO: Patient with genetically modified pig heart dies after transplant
In a tribute to the medical team that cared for him the family said: “Their enormous efforts leading to the xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts.”
“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” it said.
NAN reports that the pig kidney came from a pig that was genetically edited to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans. Scientists also inactivated porcine endogenous retroviruses in the pig donor to eliminate any risk of infection in humans.
The latest attempt by medical scientists to transplant organs of animals, especially pigs, to humans is a follow-up to similar efforts back in 2022 when the first transplant of a genetically modified kidney of a pig to a human being was performed at the University of Maryland, USA
While the recipient of the 2022 operation survived for only a few days, Mr David Bennett like Mr Slayman, lived for about two months after he became the first human to receive a genetically modified pig’s heart in a first- of- its -kind animal to human heart transplant in 2022.
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