The first patient to receive a genetically modified kidney transplant from a pig has died just two moths after the procedure.
Richard Slayman, 62, from Boston, was living with end-stage kidney disease when he received a kidney from the pig which had undergone 69 genomic edits in what experts said would herald a new epoch in organ transplantation.
Unfortunately, Mr Slayman sadly died on Saturday after doctors said he was ‘recovering well’ when he was discharged from hospital on April 6.
There is currently no indication from anyone involved in the procedure or from Mr Slayman’s family that his death was related to the transplant.
Richard Slayman, 62, the first patient to ever receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig has died just two moths after the procedure
The four-hour surgery was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston
The four-hour surgery was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston under Expanded Access Protocol ‘compassionate use’ clearance which is only implemented when patients with life-threatening illnesses have no other options.
Mr Slayman had been struggling with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension for years before he was finally diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease.
He had dialysis treatment in 2011 and was eventually put on the kidney donor waiting list and received a human kidney transplant in December 2018.
Five years later the donor kidney started to fail and Mr Slayman was put back on dialysis in May 2023.
He then had to undergo de-clotting and surgical revision every two weeks to address clotting complications during this second round of dialysis.
It was due to these persistent complications and Mr Slayman’s quickly failing kidney function that his doctors suggested trying the pig kidney transplant.
He did have an organ rejection scare just as he was getting ready to leave the hospital after having the transplant but doctors were able to quickly address it as it was a common for of rejection.
The doctors make an incision in the thigh and, using instruments, are able to tunnel through to the area where the kidney is.
At the time, Leonardo Riella, MGH’s medical director of kidney transplantation said: ‘I would rather get a rejection very early and get it treated and make adjustments rather than seeing it much later where it might go unnoticed for a couple weeks, at which point it might be too late.
‘It’s a bit like a wildfire; you want to extinguish it quickly before it gets out of control.’
The rejection and kidney stabilised after three days on a high dosage of steroids and Mr Slayman was released from hospital.
Upon his release, Mr Slayman said: ‘This moment — leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time — is one I wished would come for many years.
‘Now, it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.’
In the months following the surgery he underwent blood and urine tests three times a week and visits from his doctor twice a week to monitor his condition.
At the time Mr Slayman said: ‘I have been a Mass General Transplant Center patient for 11 years and have the highest level of trust in the doctors, nurses, and clinical staff who have cared for me.
‘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.
‘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.’
Providing insight at the time into why Mr Slayman was put forward for the experimental treatment, Dr. Winfred Williams, associate chief of the nephrology division at MGH said: ‘He would have had to wait five to six years for a human kidney. He would not have been able to survive it.’
There are more than 100,000 patients on the waiting list for a new kidney in the US, with most facing delays of at least three years.
Joren C. Madsen, Director of the MGH Transplant Center emphasised the significance of Mr Slayman’s contribution to medicine.
He said: ‘[The surgery] would not have been possible without his courage and willingness to embark on a journey into uncharted medical history.
‘Mr. Slayman becomes a beacon of hope for countless individuals suffering from end-stage renal disease and opens a new frontier in organ transplantation.’
