Patient with pig kidney returns home after two weeks in the hospital

Just two weeks after the ground-breaking procedure, the first patient to get a kidney transplant from a genetically altered pig was allowed to leave the hospital on Wednesday due to his excellent prognosis. According to specialists, the transplant and its promising result signal a significant turning point in medicine and might potentially usher in a new age of interspecies organ transplantation.

The first two organ transplants from genetically altered pigs did not work out. After receiving hearts, both patients passed away a few weeks later. There was evidence in one patient that the organ had been rejected by the immune system, which is always a possibility.
However, the kidney that was transplanted into Richard Slayman, 62, is generating urine, eliminating waste from the blood, maintaining the proper balance of bodily fluids, and performing other essential tasks, as reported by his medical team at Massachusetts General Hospital.
The United Network for Organ Sharing, which oversees the country’s organ transplant programme, chief medical officer Dr. David Klassen said that the process considerably advances the possibility of xenotransplantation, or organ transplants from animals to humans. “Though much work remains to be done, I think the potential of this to benefit a large number of patients will be realised.”
Klassen pointed out that it is still unclear whether Slayman’s body would ultimately reject the transplanted organ. There are more obstacles. A well-performing procedure would have been tested in clinical trials on several patients before xenotransplants were made generally accessible. There are “daunting” logistical problems if these transplants are to be scaled up and incorporated into the healthcare system, he added. The first is making sure there is a sufficient supply of organs from genetically altered animals. He said that the expense may also be a significant barrier.