US Man in His 60s Dies Two Months After Receiving Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Transplant

First Case of Pig Kidney Transplant in a Living Human Body
Bereaved Family: "Hope for Thousands of Transplant Patients... Goal Achieved"

A man in his 60s with end-stage kidney disease who received a genetically modified pig kidney transplant in the United States died two months later.

On the 11th (local time), the AP news agency reported that 62-year-old Richard Sleiman, who received a pig kidney transplant, had passed away.

On March 16, Sleiman received a genetically modified pig kidney transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) from the U.S. biotech company eGenesis.

While there have been previous cases of pig kidneys being transplanted into brain-dead patients, Sleiman was the first to receive a pig kidney transplant in a living person. Additionally, two men in the past received genetically modified pig heart transplants but died several months later.

Genetically Modified Pig Created by eGenesis
[Image Source: Provided by eGenesis]

At the time of the transplant, medical staff expected the pig kidney to function for at least two years. The MGH transplant team expressed condolences over Sleiman’s death, stating, “There is no indication that he died as a result of the kidney transplant.”

Sleiman’s family said, “Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the doctors who led the xenotransplantation, our family was able to spend more than seven weeks with him.” They added, “Sleiman underwent the transplant also to give hope to thousands of others who need transplants to survive. He achieved that goal, so hope and optimism will remain forever.”

In the United States, more than 100,000 people are on the organ transplant waiting list, most of whom are kidney patients, and thousands die each year before their turn for a transplant arrives. Xenotransplantation, like Sleiman’s case, is being attempted to address the shortage of organ donors. In particular, pigs have organ sizes similar to humans, and various attempts are being made by combining gene-editing technology.

Last October, eGenesis and a joint research team from Harvard Medical School published research results in the international journal Nature showing that pig kidneys genetically edited with CRISPR gene scissors were transplanted into monkeys, which survived for 758 days. This is the longest survival period in experiments involving xenotransplantation.