Rick Slayman, the first living recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, was discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital today, two weeks after the operation. “I have been looking forward to this moment, to leave the hospital with one of the cleanest certificates of health I have had in a long time, for many years. Now it is a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life,” said the 62-year-old patient in a statement released by the hospital.
Slayman is the third person to receive a genetically modified pig organ. The previous two received the heart and died shortly after their transplants. David Bennett lived for two months with a genetically altered pig heart in his chest and died in March 2022. Lawrence Faucette, 58, died last November after receiving a transplant with similar characteristics in September. Both suffered from a terminal heart condition and both placed themselves in the hands of the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.
In Slayman's case, no symptoms of rejection have been observed, the threat that hangs over these transplants. The organ is carrying out renal functions, according to the doctors, who have discharged it. “I am excited to once again spend time with my family, friends and loved ones, free from the burden of dialysis that has affected my quality of life for many years,” Slayman said in his statement. “I want to thank everyone who has seen my story and sent me well wishes, especially the patients waiting for a kidney transplant. Today is a new beginning, not only for me, but for them as well. “My recovery is progressing without problems and I ask for privacy at this time,” he added.
Patient Richard Slayman, in an image released by Masschusetts General Hospital.Michelle Rose (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Slayman, who has suffered from type 2 diabetes and hypertension for many years, previously received a kidney transplant from a deceased human donor in December 2018, after having been on dialysis for seven years prior. The transplanted kidney showed signs of failure approximately five years later and the patient resumed dialysis in May 2023. However, he encountered recurring complications in the dialysis vascular access that required hospital visits every two weeks for decoagulation and surgical revisions, which significantly affected their quality of life, a common problem among dialysis patients.
Gene editing
Massachusetts General Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health system, announced in mid-March the world's first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney to a man with end-stage kidney disease. The intervention, carried out on Saturday, March 16, lasted four hours. The Mass General Brigham system has a long history of organ transplant innovation, including the world's first successful human organ (kidney) transplant performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1954.
The porcine kidney was supplied by eGenesis, a Cambridge (Massachusetts) firm, from a porcine donor that was genetically modified using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to eliminate harmful porcine genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans. Additionally, the scientists inactivated endogenous porcine retroviruses in the donor pig to eliminate any risk of infection in humans. Over the past five years, MGH and eGenesis have conducted extensive collaborative research.
The genetically modified kidney before being transplanted, in the operating room.Michelle Rose (AP)
The intervention was carried out within the framework of a protocol known as compassionate use granted to a single patient or group of patients with serious and life-threatening diseases or conditions to access experimental treatments or trials when no comparable treatment options or therapies exist. For the procedure to be generally authorized, more tests are needed.
The transplantation of organs from genetically modified animals opens an era of possibilities and risks in medicine. The shortage of human organs can be made up for with xenotransplants, which is what transplants of cells, tissues or organs between different species are called.
According to data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) cited by Massachusetts General Hospital, more than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ for transplant and 17 people die every day waiting for an organ. The kidney is the organ most often needed for transplant, and rates of end-stage renal disease are estimated to increase by 29% to 68% in the United States by 2030, according to literature published in the
Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
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