I will never forget the morning of my college graduation ceremony. Not because I was looking forward to celebrating four years of education, but because I heard the most shocking and shocking news. My brother had gone to the doctor for a routine blood test and was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure.
The next few months were fever dreams and nightmares as my family scrambled to understand the cause and severity of my brother's symptoms, which happened to be an autoimmune disease. Eventually, it was determined that he needed a kidney transplant. Immediately. After a few weeks of testing, we found out my mom fit and could donate to him. They were able to schedule surgery right away and save his life.
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But not everyone is as lucky as my brother. in fact, 5,600 Americans killed Every year I wait for an organ transplant. The humans behind these numbers are mothers, siblings, children, aunts, nephews, lovers, and friends.
Experts are currently exploring alternatives to human organ transplants and are making significant progress.
Alabama woman receives pig kidney transplant
Twana Looney of Alabama was one of the first people to receive a pig kidney transplant. While she was waiting for her one-in-a-million match, her doctor, Jamie Locke, asked her if she would like to consider participating in an experimental transplant surgery.
“I wouldn't let her get it out of her mouth, so I said, 'Yes, ma'am,'” Rooney, 53, told NYU Langone Health.
women in alabama I have been on dialysis for 8 years already. I waited for five years for a human donor match, but it never happened.
So Rooney agreed to undergo surgery on November 25th at NYU Langone in New York City. Ten days after surgery, she returned home and will continue to be monitored by doctors for the next several weeks.
Surgeons ultimately hope to use pig organs as a routine replacement for human organs, especially if a compatible human donor is not available.
“This could completely change the calculation of end-organ failure and what that means in terms of the likelihood of receiving a transplant,” Rooney's surgeon, Dr. Robert Montgomery, said.
Montgomery himself had a heart transplant, and while he was waiting for it, he had a 50-50 chance of living long enough for the organ to be transplanted.
“Xenotransplantation eliminates that gamble,” he said, according to USA Today.
According to Dr. Lockethe hopeful information that once the kidney was transplanted, it “essentially functioned exactly like a kidney from a living donor.”
“I want to encourage people on dialysis. I know it's not easy,” Rooney said. “And it's not the only option. There's hope.”
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