The first recipient of a genetically engineered pig kidney has died

“We have no indications of that [Slayman’s death] was the result of his recent transplant,” Mass said. General in the statement.

Slayman, who lived in Weymouth and worked as a manager at the State Department of Transportation, developed kidney failure due to diabetes and high blood pressure and had been on dialysis for years, Dr. Winfred Williams, deputy chief of the renal unit at Mass. General and a transplant nephrologist who knew Slayman for more than a decade, said in March.

Slayman received a donated human kidney in 2018, but it ultimately failed. General physicians implanted a pig kidney on March 16, and Slayman was released from the hospital on April 3. Slayman was 62 years old at the time of the operation.

“Mr. Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope for countless transplant patients around the world and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” Mass. General statement said. “We extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Slayman’s family and loved ones as they remember an extraordinary person whose generosity and kindness touched all who knew him.”

In March, news that Slayman’s transplant had been successful was hailed as a milestone in xenotransplantation research – transplantation of organs or tissues from animals to humans – which has accelerated in recent years.

Recent attempts have involved pigs, whose organs have been modified to become more human-like.

Teams from NYU Langone Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine have done just that transplanted pig kidneys go inside brain dead people whose relatives consented to the experiment; in one case the kidney lasted two months.

Over the past two years, doctors at the University of Maryland transplanted pig hearts into two men, but both died within two months. And last year, Mass. reported. General researchers found that gene-edited kidneys functioned well for an average of 176 days in monkeys and for more than two years in one animal.

Developments have continued since Slayman’s surgery. In April, surgeons from NYU Langone Health performed the first combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant in a 54-year-old woman suffering from heart and kidney failure.

Slayman’s procedure was seen as a medical milestone.

When he was released from the hospital, Slayman called it “one of the happiest moments of my life” and said he hoped his story would give hope to others in need of a kidney transplant.

“Rick achieved that goal and his hope and optimism will live on forever,” his family said Saturday. “His legacy will be one that inspires patients, researchers and healthcare professionals everywhere.”

Previous experiments have also transplanted pig kidneys into non-human primates. Over the past two years, two men have been given genetically modified pig hearts and lived for seven weeks.

Slayman’s family also thanked his team of doctors, “who really did everything they could to give Rick a second chance.”

“Their tremendous efforts in directing the xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and the memories we made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts,” they said.