A 53-year-old New York woman received a genetically modified pig kidney transplant. The transplant was done in November and so far so good. The 53-year-old woman had no other choice. He is happy to be alive.
Towana Looney, 53, left a New York hospital two weeks ago, accompanied by nurses and doctors. However, just to be on the safe side, doctors have only just revealed that they transplanted a pig kidney into her in November.
– We want to make sure that this modified kidney can do everything that a normal human kidney can do. We have evidence that it takes over most of the functions of the kidneys, but uncertainty always remains. Therefore, after two, four months, six months and a year, a regular check-up is needed, says Robert Montgomery, a doctor.
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There were many fractures, the patient did not give up
Disbelief abounds because no one has ever survived more than two months with such a pig organ – or kidney or heart. However, Tuvana Looney had no other choice: she donated one of her kidneys to her mother 25 years ago, and her kidney failed when she became pregnant.
So he was unlucky, and very unlucky, because kidney failure only occurs in one percent of people who donate their own kidneys. In addition, it was found that the patient is allergic to all the kidneys offered by human donors.
– I was on dialysis for eight years, five years of which I waited for a transplant. During this time, I experienced many breakdowns, but I did not give up. When the hospital called, I always went, even if the chance of rejection was slim, says Towana Looney, a xenotransplant recipient.
At the moment, the kidney is working properly
The kidney that Tuvana Looney received was previously genetically modified: it has ten modifications that make it easier to adapt to the human body. At the moment, it is working properly, including a normal creatinine level.
Interestingly, the patient is constantly monitored outside the hospital through a device he carries with him. Thanks to this, we regularly know its physiological parameters: blood pressure, heart rate, ECG, temperature and blood oxygen level. Artificial intelligence analyzes them 24/7, says prof. Robert Montgomery.
A transplant is a chance for a new life for many people. Therefore, the declaration of will is very important
Robert Montgomery is a professor at the New York University Transplant Institute, which has already become famous for its animal transplants, as are doctors at the Baltimore hospital. There, two years ago, they transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a patient. The demand for such transplants is high because there is a shortage of human donor organs.
– If you don't try, you won't know. If we try, we will get better and we will learn how to improve it – says Tovana Looney.
Professor Zbigniew Religa tried to transplant a pig's heart in Poland 30 years ago.
Featured image credit: NYU Langone Health
