Surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York announced on Wednesday, April 24, that a 54-year-old woman became the first woman and second human being to receive a kidney transplanted from a genetically modified pig in March 2024.
Lisa Pisano, who was suffering from heart and kidney failure, was given the pig heart on April 12, just eight days after receiving a mechanical heart pump. Doctors performed the operation in two stages over the course of nine days.
First, surgically implanting the heart pump days before embarking on the landmark transplant, which included a gene-edited pig kidney and a pig’s thymus gland to aid against rejection. Before the procedure, patient Lisa Pisano, a New Jersey native, faced heart failure and end-stage kidney disease that required routine dialysis.
According to NYU Langone Health, Pisano was not a candidate for heart and kidney transplants because several chronic medical conditions significantly reduced the likelihood of a good outcome, and there weren’t enough organs for those in need.
Surgeons at NYU Langone Health
The genetically engineered pig kidney is provided by a biotech company, United Therapeutics Corporation. The pig carried a gene for producing a sugar called alpha-gal that had been “knocked out,” or blocked.
“It is incredible to consider the scientific achievements that have led to our ability to save Lisa’s life, and what we are endeavoring to do as a society for everyone in need of a lifesaving organ,” said Robert Montgomery, MD, DPhil, who led the transplant surgery. The surgeons at NYU Langone place the pig's thymus gland, which can reprogram the patient’s immune system so it doesn’t reject the pig’s organ.
The first patient to receive a kidney transplant from a gene-edited pig was a 62-year-old man at Mass General Brigham in Boston, who underwent the procedure just last month. That patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman, has already been discharged from the hospital.
Lisa Pisano Became the First Woman — and Second Living Human — To Receive a Kidney Transplant From a Pig.
Nearly 104,000 people are on the waiting list for a transplant, with 89,360 of those waiting for a kidney. Nearly 808,000 people in the United States have end-stage kidney disease, but only about 27,000 were able to receive a transplant last year.