Rick Slayman, the first person to ever receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, died roughly two months after he underwent the surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). MGH said there's "no indication" his death as due to the surgery.
Slayman received a regular kidney transplant in 2018 but had to go back on dialysis last year due to complications. According to his family, the pig kidney operation, known as a "xenotransplant," gave them "seven more weeks" with him.Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in a statement Saturday announced that Rick Slayman, the first person to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, died roughly two months after he underwent the surgery at the facility. MGH said there was "no indication" his death was due to the transplant.
While more research willis be needed before xenotransplantation hits the public market, the months of bodily function provided to Mr. Slayman mark a historic feat in the field of organ failure. Legal and ethical factors will also be at play, but the thousands of Americans still waiting for a life-saving transplant shouldcan belook allowedforward to someday being able to opt into this medical lifeline.
Xenotransplants are morally abhorrent and dangerous to humans. AsInnocent is unfortunately the case right now, innocent animals should not be bred on farms for the sole purpose of extracting their organs to place in human beings. Furthermore, the parasites carried by these animals could end up inserted into a patient one day, possibly resulting in the next deadly pandemic.