The world’s first living recipient of a genetically edited pig kidney transplant, Rick Slayman, was discharged from the hospital Wednesday, two weeks after his operation, Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement.
“He is recovering well and will continue to recuperate at home with his family,” the hospital said on X, formerly Twitter.
In a statement issued by the hospital, Slayman said, “This moment – leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time – is one I wished would come for many years. Now, it’s a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life.”
Slayman, a 62-year-old manager with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had previously said his doctors suggested that he try a pig kidney when he was diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease last year.
His doctors said last month that they thought Slayman’s new kidney could last years but also acknowledged that there are many unknowns in animal-to-human transplants.
His surgery marks the third xenotransplant of a pig organ into a living person. The first two heart transplants were performed on living patients who had exhausted all other transplant possibilities. The organs were transplanted by specific regulations that allow for the compassionate use of experimental therapies for patients in particularly severe circumstances. Both patients died several weeks after receiving their organs.
Slayman expressed gratitude for the response to his procedure, particularly from other patients waiting for a kidney donation.
The demand for organs far exceeds the supply. Every day, 17 people in the United States die while waiting for organs. Kidneys are the organ with the shortest supply. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, over 27,000 kidneys were transplanted in 2023, but nearly 89,000 people remained waiting for those organs.
”Today marks a new beginning not just for me, but for them, as well,” Slayman said in the statement.
