A woman from New Jersey, Lisa Pisano, faced a critical health situation last month at NYU Langone Health in New York, where she was battling both heart and kidney failure.
Due to the severity of her condition, traditional transplant options were not viable for her.
Doctors at NYU Langone Health devised a groundbreaking strategy: they implanted a mechanical heart pump to support her failing heart and, just days later, performed a kidney transplant using an organ from a genetically modified pig.
This innovative approach marked several milestones. Lisa Pisano, 54, became the first woman to receive a pig organ and the second known person to receive a gene-edited pig kidney while also being the first to receive a pig’s thymus gland.
Her situation was unique due to the failure of both her heart and kidneys, making her a challenging candidate for conventional transplantation.
Pisano’s recovery has shown promising progress. This week, she achieved a significant milestone by taking her first steps post-surgery.
Pisano expressed her optimism, feeling that taking this chance could pave the way for future advancements in medical science.
The shortage of human organs for transplantation in the United States, with over 100,000 individuals currently on the waiting list, particularly for kidneys, has led to increased interest in utilizing genetically modified pig organs as an alternative solution.
Biotech companies are exploring methods to modify pig DNA to reduce the risk of organ rejection by the human body, potentially addressing this critical need in transplant medicine.
