Alabama Woman Receives Pig Kidney Transplant, Marking a Milestone in Xenotransplantation

Alabama Woman Receives Pig Kidney Transplant, Marking a Milestone in Xenotransplantation

An Alabama woman is experiencing a new lease on life after receiving a successful pig kidney transplant last month. Towana Looney, 53, is the fifth American to undergo this experimental procedure, which was performed at New York's NYU Langone Transplant Institute.

"It's like a new beginning," Looney told The Associated Press. "The energy I had was amazing. To have a working kidney – and to feel it – is unbelievable."

The transplant has freed Looney from eight years of dialysis, and doctors expect her to return home to Alabama within three months. While the possibility of the kidney failing and requiring a return to dialysis exists, Looney's surgeon, Dr. Jayme Locke, expressed optimism.

"To see hope restored to her and her family is extraordinary," Locke said.

Looney's case marks a significant step forward for xenotransplantation, the transplantation of living cells, tissues, or organs from a non-human animal into a human recipient. Formal studies of xenotransplantation are expected to begin next year, offering hope to the over 100,000 people on the US transplant list, the majority of whom are waiting for kidneys.

Looney's journey to this groundbreaking transplant began 25 years ago when she donated a kidney to her mother. A complication during pregnancy damaged her remaining kidney, leading to its eventual failure. However, her body developed antibodies that would reject any human kidney offered.

In April 2023, Locke filed an emergency application for Looney to receive a pig kidney. The Food and Drug Administration approved the request, and the transplant was performed in collaboration with Dr. Robert Montgomery. The kidney used in the procedure came from Revivicor, a Virginia-based therapeutics company, and had undergone 10 gene alterations.

Since her release from the hospital, Looney has been closely monitored and returns daily for checkups. "A lot of what we're seeing, we're seeing for the first time," said Dr. Montgomery.

Looney's case represents a significant milestone in the field of xenotransplantation, offering hope for countless individuals awaiting life-saving organ transplants. As research continues, the potential for xenotransplantation to address the critical shortage of human organs is immense.