Alabama Woman In ‘Extraordinary’ Health After Third-Ever Pig Kidney Transplant, Doctors Say
ForbesDEC 26 2024
Alabama Woman Receives Gene-Edited Pig Kidney
Above: Towana Looney with Dr. Jeffrey Stern at NYU Langone Health on Dec. 11, 2024, in New York. Image copyright: ANGELA WEISS/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Narrative A
Xenotransplantation represents a revolutionary solution to the severe organ shortage crisis, offering hope to tens of thousands of patients dying while waiting for transplants. The successful outcomes and rapid recovery of recent recipients demonstrates the viability of this approach. While more trials are needed, this technology has advanced significantly, suggesting the future of organ failure medicine is very hopeful.
Narrative B
Xenotransplantation is undoubtedly a scientific breakthrough, but the process still faces hurdles, including a lack of proven long-term viability and the risk of animal-to-human disease contraction. During a pig heart transplant in a 62-year-old man, for example, viruses were found inside the transplanted organ despite genetic modifications to avoid it. These issues must be dealt with before xenotransplantation is seen as a routine medical procedure.