Towana Looney, a 53-year-old woman from Alabama, has become the fifth American to receive a gene-edited pig kidney transplant, marking a significant milestone in xenotransplantation research. Looney's surgery, conducted at NYU Langone Health, has been hailed as a success, with the patient recovering well and experiencing a renewed sense of hope. This groundbreaking procedure holds immense promise for addressing the critical shortage of human organs for transplantation.
Pig kidney recipient Towana Looney stands with transplant surgeons Dr. Jayme Locke, left, now of the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration and Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health , center, on Dec. 10, 2024, at NYU Langone Health , in New York City. NEW YORK — An Alabama woman is recovering well after a pig kidney transplant last month that freed her from eight years of dialysis, the latest effort to save human lives with animal organs.
Looney’s surgery marks an important step as scientists get ready for formal studies of xenotransplantation expected to begin next year, said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led the highly experimental procedure. More than 100,000 people are on the U.S. transplant list, most who need a kidney. Thousands die waiting and many more who need a transplant never qualify. Now, searching for an alternate supply, scientists are genetically altering pigs so their organs are more humanlike.
Then Looney heard about pig kidney research at t he University of Alabama at Birmingham and told Locke, at the time a UAB transplant surgeon, she’d like to try one. In April 2023, Locke filed an FDA application seeking an emergency experiment, under rules for people like Looney who are out of options.
Even if her new organ fails, doctors can learn from it, Looney told the AP: “You don’t know if it’s going to work or not until you try.”
Xenotransplantation Pig Kidney Transplant Organ Shortage Medical Breakthrough Alabama Woman
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