Richard Slayman from Boston became the first patient to receive a genetically modified kidney transplant from a pig two months ago.
The 62-year-old 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.
Sadly, Mr Slayman died on Saturday after doctors said he was ‘recovering well’ when he was discharged from hospital on April 6.
Cause of Death
As it is, 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.
How His Surgery Went
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.
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His Kidney Failed
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.
