Towana Looney, a woman from Alabama, recently had a pig kidney removed after living with it for a record 130 days. The kidney was removed due to her body rejecting it, and she is now back on dialysis. Despite the disappointment in the failure of the transplant, Looney thanked her doctors and expressed that the experience can help others in their journey to overcoming kidney disease.
Scientists are genetically altering pig organs to make them more similar to human organs in order to address the shortage of transplantable human organs. Before Looney, only four other Americans had received experimental xenotransplants of gene-edited pig organs, all lasting no longer than two months.
Currently, researchers are attempting these transplants in less severely ill patients, like Looney. A New Hampshire man who received a pig kidney in January is faring well, and a study of pig kidney transplants is set to begin this summer. Looney had been on dialysis since 2016 and sought out a pig kidney after not qualifying for a regular transplant due to her body’s rejection of human kidneys.
Dr. Robert Montgomery, Looney’s surgeon, stated that removing the pig kidney was a safer option than attempting to save it with riskier medications. Looney’s rejection may have been triggered by a combination of factors related to her prior infection and immune-suppressing drugs. Researchers are still learning about the best immunosuppression methods for xenotransplantation in order to prevent rejection. Looney’s experience is valuable in providing insights for future clinical trials in xenotransplantation.
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