Richard Slayman, 62, has died weeks after receiving a pig’s kidney transplant (Pictura: via Reuters)
The first human to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig has died seven weeks after the procedure.
Richard Slayman, 62, had the transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital in the US in March and it was hoped the kidney would last two years.
But the team who carried out the operation said there is currently no indication he died as a result of the procedure.
Mr Slayman, from Weymouth, Massachusetts, was the first living human to have a pig’s kidney transplant.
Two men have previously received heart transplants from pigs, but also died within months.
Mr Slayman received a human kidney transplant in 2018 but it began to fail last year, so he went back on dialysis.
Surgeons performing Mr Slayman’s transplant (Picture: Michelle Rose/Massachusetts General Hospital/AFP via Getty Images)
The pig kidney is prepared (Picture: Michelle Rose/Massachusetts General Hospital/AFP via Getty Images)
However, due to a series of dialysis complications since, doctors suggested a pig kidney transplant.
In a statement, his family thanked his doctors.
They said: ‘Their enormous efforts leading the xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts.’
They said Mr Slayman didn’t just agree to the procedure for himself, but to offer hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive.
‘Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever,’ the family added.
Mr Slayman and the medical team after the transplant (Picture: Massachusetts General Hospital)
Xenotransplantation refers to healing human patients with cells, tissues or organs from animals.
But for many years such efforts failed because the human immune system would immediately destroyed foreign animal tissue.
However, recent attempts have involved pigs that have been modified so their organs are more human-like.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.