First Man Who Received Pig kidney Transplant Dies 2 Months After Procedure
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) United States of America has announced on Sunday the passing of Mr. Rick Slayman, the first person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant in order to safe his life.
According to the US hospital, they had not expected Rick to die after the a successful surgery.
The hospital in a statement said, “Mass General is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman. We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant,”.
Recall The Pendulum Media two months ago gave a report according to Cable News Network, CNN that Slayman, 62 had a successful transplant in March after suffering from end-stage kidney disease.
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Organ shortages are a chronic problem around the world and Mass General said in March that there were more than 1,400 patients on its waiting list for a kidney transplant.
Slayman, who suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, had received a transplanted human kidney in 2018, but it began to fail five years later.
The pig kidney used for the transplant was provided by a Massachusetts biotech company called eGenesis and had been modified to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes, according to the hospital.
When the hospital announced the successful transplant in March, Slayman said he had agreed to the procedure “not only as a way to help (him), but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.”
However, in a statement posted on Mass General’s website, his family said while they were “deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick” they took “great comfort knowing he inspired so many.”
Slayman’s family appreciated the doctors “who truly did everything they could to help give Rick a second chance. Their enormous efforts leading the xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts.”
“After his transplant, Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” the family added.
“His legacy will be one that inspires patients, researchers, and health care professionals.”
The transplantation of organs from one species to another is a growing field known as xenotransplantation.
Pig kidneys had reportedly been transplanted previously into brain-dead patients, but Slayman was the first living person to receive one.
Genetically modified pig hearts were transplanted in 2023 into two patients at the University of Maryland, but both lived less than two months.
Mass General said Slayman’s transplant had been carried out under a policy known as “compassionate use” that allows patients with “serious or life-threatening conditions” to access experimental therapies not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
“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,” the hospital statement added.
Credit: BBC
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