The first patient to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig has been discharged from hospital.
Richard “Rick” Suleiman I received the organ in March. The world’s first surgery was performed after a four-hour surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston.
The 62-year-old suffers from end-stage renal disease, a chronic disease in which the kidneys can no longer function on their own.
“This moment, being able to leave the hospital today in the best health I’ve had in a long time, is the moment I’ve wanted to come for years,” he said in a statement Wednesday. .
“Now it’s real and it’s one of the happiest moments of my life.”
He expressed his gratitude to all the medical staff involved and to all those who cared for him before and after his “historic transplant.”
He added, “I’m excited to be free from the burden of dialysis, which has affected my quality of life for many years, and to be able to spend time with my family, friends, and loved ones again.”
“I would like to thank everyone who has seen my story and sent their well-wishes, especially those who are waiting for kidney transplants. Today marks a new beginning not only for me, but for them as well.”
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“It was a really fun day for all of us,” Dr. Leonardo Riera, the hospital’s chief renal transplant surgeon, told NBC10 Boston.
The success of the procedure has raised hopes that animal-to-human transplants, or xenotransplants, could help address the global shortage of donor organs.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough kidneys to accommodate the thousands of patients who need them,” he said.
“This gives us great hope that we can receive a kidney at the right time, before the best treatment for kidney disease, a kidney transplant, is no longer available.”
The kidney Suleiman received had been modified by the Massachusetts-based company EGenesis.
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It was gene edited using technology that removed harmful pig genes and added specific human genes to make it more compatible with humans.
Since the early 2000s, researchers have been trying to genetically modify pigs in a way that reduces the chance that transplants will be rejected by the human immune system.
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According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 100,000 people in the United States are waiting for an organ transplant. Data shows that approximately 17 people die every day while waiting for a transplant, and kidneys are the most common organ needed for transplantation.
More than 5,200 people are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant in the UK, according to the charity Kidney Research, more than 3,300 transplants are carried out each year.
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