A New Jersey woman is surviving and recovering after undergoing an experimental transplant using a genetically modified pig kidney.
Earlier this month, Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old grandmother from Cookstown, New Jersey, about 20 miles southeast of Trenton, was on the verge of death.she desperately needed kidney transplantBut the antibodies in her tissue made it nearly impossible to find a match.
She also had heart failure, but doctors were hesitant to implant a heart pump, known as a left ventricular assist device, because she was on dialysis. This is because the mortality rate for dialysis patients undergoing such procedures is high.
Miserable and seemingly hopeless, Pisano suddenly received a message of hope from Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the New York University Langone Transplant Institute. Montgomery and his team offered to perform two separate surgeries that, if successful, would at least give Pisano some more time with his loved ones.
The first surgery, performed on April 4, involved the implantation of an LVAD device. Eight days later, the medical team transplanted a pig kidney into Pisano’s body.
Doctors have been dabbling in xenotransplantation, or organ transplants between different species, for some time, but with little long-term success. Last year, two men received heart transplants from pigs. University of Maryland School of MedicineHowever, both died within a few months. To reduce the chance of organ rejection and increase the likelihood of xenotransplantation, scientists at United Therapeutics genetically engineered pigs to prevent organ rejection. sugar Something that the human body does not recognize.
Dr. Montgomery selected a kidney from one of United Therapeutics’ genetically modified pigs and transplanted it into Pisano’s body. To further reduce the chance of rejection, the pig kidneys were also fitted with a pig thymus gland.
Montgomery’s plan appears to have worked. When Pisano received a pig kidney, it began producing urine almost immediately, prompting cheers from doctors and nurses in the operating room.
Pisano will likely have to be hospitalized for several months, but he is already showing signs of dramatic improvement. By April 22, just 10 days after the transplant, he was even able to walk a few steps with the help of a walker and several physical therapists.
“I feel better and better every day,” she said. NPR.
Before the surgery, Pisano said she felt “terrible” and couldn’t do even basic tasks. “She couldn’t even make dinner,” she said. “I couldn’t vacuum. I couldn’t play with her grandchildren because I couldn’t bend down to pick them up. I couldn’t do anything with them. ”
Now, she and her family are grateful for the improved quality of life. Her husband, Todd, said, “This surgery has allowed my wife to see her smile again.”
Dr. Montgomery cautioned that Pisano’s long-term prognosis is uncertain, but he is equally pleased with the results so far. “Her condition was very bad when we took her to the hospital,” he said. But for now, “her kidneys are working better than yours or mine, so we’re hoping she can go home and spend time with her children and grandchildren and live a comfortable life.” “I’m optimistic that we can do it,” he said.
That’s exactly what Pisano is trying to do. “Anytime on this planet, it’s better than nothing,” she said. “So if I’m given two years, that’s two years I’ve never had before.”
Massachusetts General’s Dr. Tatsuo Kawai performed a similar pig kidney transplant on a patient last month. The patient, Richard “Rick” Suleiman, is doing well after five weeks, despite initial concerns about rejection. His latest biopsy showed no signs of rejection, according to the Associated Press.
Despite these hopeful signs, L. Sid Johnson, a bioethicist at Upstate Medical University in New York City, cautioned that xenotransplants are still in the experimental phase, warning that the medical industry has “no other options. There are concerns about exploiting ‘desperate patients’.
“Perhaps those patients will benefit,” she added. “Perhaps they believe there is a benefit to them and the risk is worth it to them. But when we do this experiment, especially vulnerable and desperate patients… I’m worried that they’re taking advantage of it.”
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