A 67-year-old man set a new record for living with a genetically modified pig kidney, nearly reaching the nine-month mark before doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston removed the organ last week due to declining function, the hospital said Monday. The patient, Tim Andrews, became the fourth American to undergo this experimental procedure. The first two recipients died soon after their transplants, while a third had her pig kidney removed after just over four months due to organ rejection. Andrews' case marks the longest anyone has lived with a pig kidney, making him a milestone figure in the field of xenotransplantation—the process of transferring organs between species, the New York Times reports.
Andrews will return to dialysis and stay on the waiting list for a human kidney. With more than 100,000 people nationwide waiting for organ transplants—90,000 of them for kidneys—researchers are turning to genetically modified pigs as a potential solution to the chronic shortage. The pig kidney Andrews received had undergone 69 genetic modifications, including changes to minimize the risk of transmitting viruses and to help the organ avoid rejection by the human immune system. His surgery was the first in a clinical trial at Mass General using gene-edited pig kidneys developed by Massachusetts-based biotech firm eGenesis. The hospital plans to continue the trial, with another pig kidney transplant scheduled for later this year.
Before his transplant in January, Andrews had spent over two years on dialysis, which often left him feeling sick. He spent many of his waking hours attached to the machines, and once said the pig transplant was worth the risk if it kept him off dialysis, CNN reports. While he had the pig kidney, he was able to return to activities like cooking and taking his dog for long walks. Reflecting on the nine months, he said Saturday, "I am proud of everything we discovered, learned and experienced." He called the pig whose kidney was used "my hero."
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