Mass General has pulled off another first.
The renowned Boston teaching hospital announced the world’s first successful transplant today of a genetically edited pig kidney into a 62-year-old Weymouth man living with end-stage kidney disease.
“Nearly seven decades after the first successful kidney transplant, our clinicians have once again demonstrated our commitment to provide innovative treatments and help ease the burden of disease for our patients and others around the world,” said Anne Klibanski, MD, President and CEO, Mass General Brigham.
The cutting-edge CRISPR technology was pivotal in this operation, Mass General said.
The pig kidney was provided by eGenesis of Cambridge from a pig donor that was “genetically-edited using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans,” the hospital added in a press release this morning.
A press conference is ongoing now.
The male recipient of the pig kidney is a Black man, a key element because African Americans have higher rates of deadly kidney disease, the New York Times is reporting.
“We are grateful for the courageous contribution of the patient and to the advancement of transplantation science,” Mike Curtis, eGenesis CEO, said in a release to the Herald.
MGH identified the patient as Richard “Rick” Slayman of Weymouth, who is “recovering well” and is expected to be discharged soon.
“The real hero today is the patient, Mr. Slayman, as the success of this pioneering surgery, once deemed unimaginable, would not have been possible without his courage and willingness to embark on a journey into uncharted medical territory,” said Dr. Joren C. Madsen, director of the MGH Transplant Center.
“As the global medical community celebrates this monumental achievement, Mr. Slayman becomes a beacon of hope for countless individuals suffering from end-stage renal disease and opens a new frontier in organ transplantation,” said the doctor added.
The Weymouth man said in a statement he had the “highest level of trust” in MGH.
“When my transplanted kidney began failing in 2023, I again trusted my care team at MGH to meet my goals of not just improving my quality of life but extending it,” Slayman said. “My nephrologist, Dr. Winfred Williams, MD and the Transplant Center team suggested a pig kidney transplant, carefully explaining the pros and cons of this procedure. I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.”
According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 100,000 people in the U.S. await an organ for transplant and 17 people die each day waiting for an organ, MGH said.
A kidney, the hospital added, is the most common organ needed for transplant, and end-stage kidney disease rates are estimated to increase 29-68 percent in the U.S. by 2030, according to literature published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
This is a developing story …
