In a major breakthrough in the health sector, a 62-year-old man created history by becoming the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced.
Richard Slayman's kidneys had failed and he had been on dialysis. According to Dr. Winfred Williams, the associate chief of the nephrology division at Mass General, Slayman went through a four-hour surgery to get the pig kidney.
Reportedly, 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 recent accomplishment of the first-ever pig kidney transplant in a living recipient marks a significant advancement in xenotransplantation, also known as animal-to-human transplant. This breakthrough brings hope to the numerous individuals in the United States and around the globe who are currently awaiting organ transplants.
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, more than 100,000 people in the US await an organ for transplant, with kidneys in the greatest demand.
According to Williams, there have not been any indications that his body's immune system is rejecting the kidney thus far.
