On March 16, 2024, a Boston-area man became the first recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney. Now, a second such transplant has taken place, along with the implantation of a mechanical heart pump.
Lisa Pisano, 54, of Cookstown, New Jersey, was suffering from both heart failure and kidney failure and facing limited treatment options. Heart failure made her ineligible for a traditional kidney transplant, and receiving dialysis disqualified her from a heart pump. As a solution, physicians at NYU Langone Health implanted a left ventricular assist device on April 4 to keep her heart beating, followed by transplantation of a pig kidney on April 12, with emergency permission from the US Food and Drug Administration.
The pig was genetically engineered by United Therapeutics to ensure its cells do not produce a certain sugar that is foreign to the human body and would trigger organ rejection. In addition, the pig’s thymus gland, which trains the immune system, was attached to the transplanted kidney to potentially help Pisano’s body tolerate the new organ.
Pisano is reported to be doing well and has taken a few steps with the aid of a walker. With more than 100,000 individuals on the US organ transplant waiting list, experts and patients will undoubtedly watch her progress closely in hopes that xenotransplantation may help alleviate the growing need for donor organs.
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