Towana Looney donated a kidney to her mother in 1999, only for the remaining one to fail several years later owing to pregnancy difficulties.
New York’s NYU Langone hospital recently revealed that the 53-year-old from Alabama is now the only live human with an animal organ transplant worldwide and the most recent recipient of a gene-edited pig kidney.
Three weeks following the treatment, Looney declared at a news conference, “I am thrilled, I am privileged to have received this gift, this second chance at life.”
Transplanting organs from one species to another, or xenotransplantation, has long been an intriguing but difficult scientific endeavour. Although early primate tests were unsuccessful, the fantasy is now closer to reality thanks to recent developments in gene editing and immune system control.
Because they are already a component of the human food supply, grow quickly, and have big litters, pigs have become the perfect donors.
With over 100,000 individuals waiting for transplants, including over 90,000 in need of kidneys, advocates think this strategy may help alleviate the acute organ shortage in the US.
Looney had endured eight exhausting years of dialysis since December 2016. She suffered chronic renal damage as a result of the high blood pressure brought on by preeclampsia.
As a living donor, she was given preference on transplant waiting lists, but her quest for a suitable kidney ended in frustration. Rejection was nearly certain due to her abnormally high levels of dangerous antibodies, and her health deteriorated as her body lost healthy blood arteries to sustain dialysis.
When asked later how she felt, Looney’s happiness was contagious. “I have a lot of energy, I am hungry, and I can use the restroom, of course. She chuckled and said, “I have not been going in eight years!” She also mentioned that she would like to celebrate at Disney World.
One of the transplant team’s surgeons, Jayme Locke, expressed amazement at the outcomes. She said that for the first time in years, Looney’s husband noticed a flush in her cheeks. “The kidney functioned essentially exactly like a kidney from a living donor,” she said. “That is the transplantation miracle.”
For the third instance, a human who is not brain dead has received a kidney transplant from a gene-edited pig thanks to Looney’s procedure.
The first patient, Rick Slayman, passed away at Massachusetts General Hospital in May, two months after his surgery. After undergoing surgery at NYU Langone, the second, Lisa Pisano, appeared to be recovering at first, but the organ had to be removed 47 days later, and she died in July.
However, Robert Montgomery, who oversaw the procedure, pointed out that Looney was not terminally ill prior to the transplant. He underlined that every case offers important insights for honing the methods.
-With Inputs from Agencies
