The NYU Langone Health Hospital, part of New York University, performed the second transplant of a genetically modified pig kidney on April 12. In this case, the patient who underwent the operation was Lisa Pisano, making her the first female recipient to receive an organ from an animal through a procedure known as xenotransplantation.
Surgeons at NYU Langone Health recently completed the first-ever combined heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant in a living patient with heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, who otherwise had no options for a better quality of life: https://t.co/ILQcz2OU5Z pic.twitter.com/frb23zVmr2
— NYU Langone Health (@nyulangone) April 24, 2024
This procedure saved her life since Pisano suffered from various heart conditions that made her ineligible for a traditional transplant. In fact, before the surgery, Pisano had to undergo another procedure, which took place on April 4. She had an operation to place a ventricular assist device (VAD), a mechanical pump that allows her heart to function properly, which was crucial for her to survive the transplant.
A pig kidney transplant was the only option to save the patient's life
Pisano's heart failure and subsequent end-stage renal disease forced her to have to undergo routine dialysis. However, other chronic medical conditions meant that she could not receive a standard heart or kidney transplant as her other illnesses "significantly reduced the likelihood of a good outcome," according to the director of the New York University Langone Transplant Institute, Dr. Robert Montgomery.
Dr. Montgomery explained in a press release that Pisano "was getting sicker and sicker, and really, her life expectancy could be measured in days or weeks. She had both heart and kidney failure but was not a candidate for a combined heart and kidney transplant because of her other health conditions."
Her outcome was made worse due to the general lack of donor organs in the country. Everything changed when the New York medical team found out about the transplant performed by the Massachusetts hospital a few months ago on 62-year-old Richard Slayman, who is home recovering from the procedure.
Pisano's doctors proposed the idea to her. She knew she wanted to take a risk. As soon as she was offered this innovative surgery, she agreed. She said in a statement reported by CNN:
When that opportunity first came to me, I was like, ‘I gotta try it.’ I’ve tried everything else, and I’ve exhausted all other resources. So when this opportunity came, I said, ‘I’m gonna take advantage of it.’
Lisa Pisano wants to "spend time with my grandkids"
The goal for Pisano, a 54-year-old New Jersey resident, is simple: She hopes to "spend time with my grandkids and play with them." This goal no longer seems as impossible as it did a few months ago: "Lisa has a long way to go... her kidney is functioning beautifully … Her heart is in much better shape," Dr. Montgomery said.
The specialist explained that the medical team's priority is to be on the lookout for problems such as rejection and infection. If all goes according to plan, she will need a month of rehabilitation before being discharged. Pisano claims she is already beginning to see improvements:
I couldn’t get up and breathe. I couldn’t do anything. I feel the best I’ve felt in a long time. The worst-case scenario, if it doesn’t work, it might work for the next person. At least somebody is gonna benefit from it.
