Towana Looney, a 53-year-old woman from Alabama, received a groundbreaking pig kidney transplant after struggling to find a human donor match due to her sensitized immune system. Three weeks post-transplant, she's off dialysis and feeling remarkably well.
Last month, a woman became the third living person to receive a pig kidney. Now, her kidney function is completely normal, and she's off dialysis. The transplant recipient — Towana Looney, 53, of Alabama — had donated a kidney to her mother back in 1999. A few years later, though, she developed high blood pressure associated with preeclampsia during pregnancy. The condition led her to develop chronic kidney disease, and she needed to start dialysis in 2016.
Dialysis does the work of the kidneys by removing waste and extra fluid from the blood. In 2017, Looney was added to the transplant list, and as a previous kidney donor, she was given higher priority than the average person would be. However, finding a kidney that 'matched' Looney's immune system proved extremely challenging. 'Through exposure to other people's tissue, through pregnancies and blood transfusions, she has become sensitized to nearly every tissue type in the population, making it nearly impossible to find a kidney match,' Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute and leader of Looney's procedure, said at a news conference Tuesday (Dec. 17).'She was waiting for a 1-in-a-million match.' Related: Creating 'universal' transplant organs: New study moves us one step closer. But Looney had another option: an experimental procedure to get a new kidney from a gene-edited pig. Now, three weeks out from receiving the kidney, Looney said she's full of energy and feeling grateful. 'Emotionally, I'm overjoyed,' Looney said at the news conference.'I don't know what I want to do next, what I want to eat next, where I want to go.' She later added,'I want to go to Disney World'
TRANSPLANT PIG KIDNEY CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE DIABETES MEDICAL RESEARCH
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bite of hope: Malaria vaccine delivered by gene-edited mosquito kills infection by 89%In clinical trials, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has demonstrated that mosquito bites can deliver malaria vaccine safely.
Read more »
Waukegan, Illinois woman receives helping hand, special gift from police officer-social worker teamWaukegan, Illinois woman receives special gift from police officer-social worker team
Read more »
Red One's Wonder Woman Jokes Are Really AwkwardAn edited image of Dwayne Johnson in Red One and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
Read more »
Woman Receives Pig Kidney in Historic TransplantTowana Looney, 53, became the first person to receive a pig kidney transplant and was freed from eight years of dialysis. The experimental procedure, led by Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, is a significant step towards formal xenotransplantation studies expected to begin next year. Looney is recovering well and doctors anticipate her full return home in three months.
Read more »
Woman banned from The Polish Village in Berea returns & wreaks havoc, receives citationPolice arrested a 21-year-old Brook Park woman -- previously banned from The Polish Village on Berea Street for smoking in the bathroom -- was cited after she returned to the bar at about 1 a.m. Dec. 1.
Read more »
First Black Woman Publisher Receives Esteemed Award, Pledges Free JournalismThis article highlights the historic achievement of the first Black woman Publisher receiving a prestigious award and her commitment to providing free journalism for the Black and Brown community.
Read more »