The initial recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has passed away, two months following the procedure, as confirmed by the U.S. hospital where the transplant took place.
“Massachusetts General Hospital is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman. We have no indication that it was related to his recent transplant,” stated the Boston hospital.
In a groundbreaking achievement, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital performed the world’s first transplant of a genetically edited pig kidney into Mr. Slayman, who was 62 years old and suffering from end-stage kidney disease at the time. The pig kidney, provided by the biotech company eGenesis, had been engineered to eliminate harmful pig genes and incorporate specific human genes, according to the hospital.
