Boston Surgeons Successfully Transplant Pig Kidney in Fourth Patient

Doctors in a hospital in Boston have been able to successfully conduct a pig kidney transplant—the fourth of its kind in the US. For Massachusetts General Hospital, it’s the second time that a kidney failure patient has been given a new lease of life.

The recipient of the genetically modified pig organ was a 66-year-old man, surgeons said. The transplant, performed last month, came shortly after a woman in Alabama received a transplanted, gene-edited pig kidney, and this marks a groundbreaking step in efforts to address a critical nationwide shortage of donor organs.

Transplant part of FDA's clinical trial

The latest transplant was part of a new clinical trial approved by the US Food and Drug Administration's testing if a genetically modified pig organ can work long-term in human patients.

According to the New York Times, the recipient is Tim Andrews of Concord, who has been undergoing dialysis for the last two years. Andrews suffered a heart attack shortly after he began dialysis and his thrice-a-week treatment left him fatigued, along with symptoms like nausea and dizziness most of the time.

The report said his condition had deteriorated so much by last fall that Andrews was confined to a wheelchair before he came in talks for the transplant with the doctors.

According to Andrews’ doctors, he had to be in full physical shape for the surgery and so he had to do physical therapy and walk. And so, a week after the surgery, Andrews was well enough to leave the hospital. “It’s like a new engine—suddenly I had an energy machine pouring into me,” Andrews told The Times.

“When I got out of the recovery room and went to the intensive care unit, I tap danced between the table and my bed,” he added. “I’m so happy, it’s unbelievable.”

Doctors say so far, pig organ transplants have proven to be safe and effective, but the questions remain about their cost and insurance coverage as most of the patients are not able to rely on Medicare.

According to statistics, more than 100,000 people in the US are waiting for organ transplants, with most of them needing kidneys and a large number passing before getting one due to a shortage of human donor organs.

And so, many biotech companies are now genetically modifying pigs so that their organs become less likely to be rejected by the human body. According to the Times, the kidney received by Andrews came from a pig that had 69 gene edits, which included 59 changes to reduce the risk of any kind of infection.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.