🚀 AI-picked stocks soar in May. PRFT is +55%—in just 16 days! Don’t miss June’s top picks.Unlock full list

First human to receive transplanted pig kidney dies

Published 05/12/2024, 02:21 PM
Updated 05/12/2024, 06:35 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People walk past a sign at the entrance to Massachusetts General Hospital, where a patient is being treated for monkeypox, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) - A man with end-stage renal disease who earlier this year became the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig has died, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said.

"The Mass General transplant team is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman," the hospital said in a statement on Saturday. "We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant."

Slayman, 62, of Weymouth, Massachusetts, received the transplant in March in a four-hour surgery that the hospital at the time called "a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients."

"Our family is deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick but take great comfort knowing he inspired so many," Slayman's family said in a statement.

Slayman had received a transplant of a human kidney at the same hospital in 2018 after seven years on dialysis, but the organ failed after five years and he had resumed dialysis treatments.

The kidney was provided by eGenesis of Cambridge, Massachusetts, from a pig that had been genetically edited to remove genes harmful to a human recipient and add certain human genes to improve compatibility, according to the hospital. The company also inactivated viruses inherent to pigs that have the potential to infect humans.

Kidneys from similarly edited pigs raised by eGenesis had successfully been transplanted into monkeys that were kept alive for an average of 176 days, and in one case for more than two years, researchers reported in October in the journal Nature.

Drugs used to help prevent rejection of the pig organ by the patient's immune system included an experimental antibody called tegoprubart, developed by Eledon Pharmaceuticals, according to the hospital.

According to a data tracker maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing, more than 100,000 people in the U.S. await an organ for transplant, with kidneys in the greatest demand.

© Reuters. Rick Slayman. Massachusetts General Hospital/Handout via REUTERS

NYU surgeons had previously transplanted pig kidneys into brain-dead people.

A University of Maryland team in January 2022 transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease, but he died two months later.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.