If you’ve even watched a single medical drama, you’d know that organ transplants are no easy feat. You’d also know that organs are hard to come by, as there are many who need transplants, but only a few willing to be donors.
And even if there are willing donors, they’d have to be compatible for the transplant to work.
35.5 millions Americans have kidney disease and 808,000 Americans have kidney failure. More than 557,000 Americans are on dialysis, and there are almost 100,000 on the kidney transplant waiting list.
Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans have the highest rates of end-stage kidney disease. Despite this, Black patients generally have less access to a donated kidney in America.
On average, 17 people die each day while waiting for an organ transplant.
Because there are simply not enough willing organ donors, xenotransplantation has been on the rise. This refers to the transplantation of organs from one species to another.
First Living Patient To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant
In March 2024, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into Mr Richard Slayman, who was 62 years old at the time and suffering from end-stage kidney disease.
In addition to kidney disease, Slayman was also living with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension. In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.
Slayman then became the first living patient to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant.
The kidney came from a pig engineered by biotech company eGenesis, which removed three genes involved in potential rejection of the organ. eGenesis also inserted seven human genes to enhance human compatibility.
You obviously can’t just kill a random pig and insert its organs into a human, right?
Slayman exhibited signs of rejection on the eighth day after surgery, but this was not unexpected.
Doctors managed to reverse the rejection with steroids and other medications, and he was cleared to go home about a week later.
Unfortunately, Slayman died five weeks later – just two months after the procedure.
However, the hospital did not find that his death was caused by his transplant.
“Mass General is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr Richard Slayman. We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant,” the Boston hospital said in a statement on 11 May.
A Beacon Of Hope
In the statement, the hospital said Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide” and that they are grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation.
Slayman’s family said they feel comforted by “the optimism he provided patients desperately waiting for a transplant,” and the fact that he “inspired so many”.
They also thanked the hospital’s surgeons for leading the xenotransplant that gave Slayman seven more weeks to live and spend with his family.
Slayman had previously said that 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”.
“His legacy will be one that inspires patients, researchers, and health care professionals everywhere,” his family said.
Scientists have been talking about xenotransplantation for years with a focus on primate organs, but talk about pig organs has become particularly prominent in the last three years or so.
Pig organs are similar to humans in organ size and physiology, offering a potential solution to the problem of a lack of organ donors.
To test the compatibility between the human body and pig organs, researchers have been transplanting genetically modified pig kidneys and hearts into people who were brain-dead.
Slayman was the first living person to receive a pig kidney.
According to the hospital, his 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.
Last year, genetically modified pig hearts were transplanted into two patients at the University of Maryland, though both lived less than two months.
In one of the cases, there were signs that the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.
While xenotransplants are a major breakthrough in the medical field, there are still ethical considerations like virus transmission. Animal rights groups also oppose the use of pigs for human transplants, deeming it as unethical and a waste of resources.
Although there are still many who feel strongly against xenotransplants, and view it as dangerous and unfair to animals, there is still a general consensus among most medical practitioners that the benefits outweigh the costs.