𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐠 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲
Richard “Rick” Slayman, a 62-year-old man who made history as the first person to receive a genetically edited pig kidney transplant, has died two months after the groundbreaking surgery, according to his family and a statement from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he had the transplant.
According to the Washington Post on Sunday, the Boston hospital in a statement issued late Saturday said, “Mass General is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman. We do not indicate that it was the result of his recent transplant.
“Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation.”
Doctors got approval from the Food and Drug Administration, which allowed the surgery under its “compassionate use” rules, to try the xenotransplant, the process of implanting organs from one species into another.
The approval is granted in cases where a patient has a “serious or immediately life-threatening disease or condition” and there are no alternative treatments, according to the FDA.
The four-hour operation involved 69 genetic edits to the pig’s kidney to reduce the risk of rejection.
In a statement posted on Mass General’s website, his family said while they were “deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick” they took “great comfort knowing he inspired so many.”
(FILES) In this March 16, 2024, image courtesy of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, surgeons perform the world’s first genetically modified pig kidney transplant into a living human. – The first living patient to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died, the US hospital that carried out the procedure said in a statement issued late on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Michelle ROSE / Massachusetts General Hospital
/ AFP)
