Boston, Massachusetts4 days ago
- copy link
The picture is of 62-year-old Richard Rick Slayman, who died.
Richard Rick Slayman, 62, who had a pig kidney, died in the US state of Massachusetts. Richard was transplanted with a genetically modified pig kidney in March. Doctors had said that this kidney can function properly in Richard’s body for at least 2 years.
The hospital where the transplant was performed said that the pig kidney was not the cause of Richard’s death. The transplant team has expressed grief over Richard’s death. Richard was the first person to have a pig kidney transplanted into his body. Earlier, pig kidney was transplanted only into the body of a brain-dead person.
The box in the nurse’s hand contains a pig’s kidney. It was imposed on 62 year old Richard 2 months ago.
Pig’s heart has also been transplanted
Pig’s heart has also been transplanted to two people. However, he died just a few months after the surgery. Richard’s first kidney transplant took place in 2018. However, that kidney also failed and he had to undergo dialysis again.
After some time, he started facing a lot of problems in dialysis, after which the doctors suggested transplanting a pig’s kidney. After Richard’s death, his family thanked the transplant team.
He said that because of the doctors we got to spend some more time with Richard. Richard was ready for this surgery so that other patients like him around the world could get a new hope of living.
In April, a month after Richard’s surgery, a woman named Lisa Pisano from New Jersey was also transplanted with a genetically modified pig kidney. Apart from this, he was also fitted with a mechanical pump so that his heart could keep beating.
Lisa Pisano (right) is seen in the picture with her daughter. In April 2024, he was also transplanted with a pig kidney.
How a pig’s kidney was made fit for the human body
Pig genes contain a sugar molecule called glycan, which humans do not have. Our body treats this sugar molecule like a foreign element and rejects it. Because of this, whenever kidney transplant was attempted before, it failed.
To deal with this problem, scientists had already changed the genes of pigs and removed this sugar molecule. Also, by changing the genes of the pig through genetic engineering, the kidney was transplanted.
More than 1 lakh people in America waiting for organ transplant
Currently, about 1.10 lakh people in America are waiting for organ transplant. Most of these cases are of kidney transplant. Every year in America, more than 6 thousand patients die due to lack of organ transplant.