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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The world’s first recipient of a transplanted genetically edited pig kidney has been discharged from hospital, almost three weeks after the operation.
On March 16, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States transplanted a genetically edited pig’s kidney into 62-year-old Richard Slayman, a living human recipient, for the first time.
The hospital said a genetically edited pig kidney was used for the successful surgery which took four hours.
Slayman has been living with type 2 diabetes and hypertension for years.
He was on dialysis for many years before receiving a kidney transplant from a deceased human donor in December 2018.
The kidney began to fail about five years later and Slayman was forced to resume dialysis in May 2023.
In an post on its X account, the Massachusetts General Hospital announced thst Slayman was recovering well and had been discharged.
“We are happy to share that today, Rick Slayman, our first patient to ever receive a genetically edited pig kidney transplant, has been discharged from the hospital. He is recovering well and will continue to recuperate at home with his family,“ the post read.
The 62-year-old said leaving the hospital with one of the cleanest bills of health he has had in a long time is one wish he had for many years.
“Now it’s a reality,” Slayman said.
He was quoted to have said that the day not only meant a new beginning for him, but also for many other people who were waiting for a kidney transplant.
The patient was said to have showed signs of rejection on the eighth day after the operation but the immune reaction was contained with medication.
“It was a roller coaster the first week,” the doctors said.