US man who was first to receive gene-edited pig kidney transplant dies 2 months later
- Richard ‘Rick’ Slayman was the first living person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, in March at the age of 62
- His family said he underwent the surgery in part to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive
The first recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died nearly two months after he underwent the procedure.
Richard “Rick” Slayman had the transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in March at the age of 62. Surgeons said they believed the pig kidney would last for at least two years.
The transplant team at Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement on Saturday they were deeply saddened by Slayman’s passing and offered condolences to his family. They said they didn’t have any indication that he died as a result of the transplant.
The Weymouth, Massachusetts, man was the first living person to have the procedure. Previously, pig kidneys had been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors. Two men received heart transplants from pigs, although both died within months.
Slayman had a kidney transplant at the hospital in 2018, but he had to go back on dialysis last year when it showed signs of failure. When dialysis complications arose requiring frequent procedures, his doctors suggested a pig kidney transplant.
The xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts
In a statement, Slayman’s family thanked his doctors.
