A groundbreaking surgery at NYU Langone Health has made headlines as a 54-year-old New Jersey woman became the second living person to receive a genetically engineered pig kidney. The surgery, which also involved transplanting the pig’s thymus gland, is a significant advancement in the field of xenotransplantation.
The patient, Lisa Pisano, had previously been suffering from heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, resulting in the need for a mechanical heart pump before the transplant. This marks the first known instance of a patient with a mechanical heart pump receiving an organ transplant.
The series of procedures, performed over nine days, began with the implantation of the heart pump to replace the failing heart. Surgeons then transplanted the pig organs, including the kidney with the addition of the pig’s thymus gland. This addition is meant to reprogram the immune system and potentially reduce the need for immunosuppressive drugs.
The NYU team has been pioneering the use of genetically engineered pig organs in transplant procedures since 2021. Previous experiments have shown that pig kidneys can function in the human body for up to two months, and up to two years in monkeys. The current surgery on Lisa Pisano is part of ongoing efforts to determine if pig kidneys can effectively support humans in need of new kidneys.
This innovative approach to xenotransplantation offers hope for patients who may not otherwise receive organ transplants due to the shortage of human organ donors. Lisa Pisano is reportedly recovering well and feeling fantastic after the surgery, marking a significant milestone in the field of organ transplantation.
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