Richard Suleiman, the first recipient of a kidney from a pig, has died, according to Massachusetts General Hospital, where the transplant took place in March.
In a statement late Saturday, the transplant team said there was “no indication” that Suleiman’s death was a result of the transplant, which the hospital announced as a significant scientific finding.
Suleiman, 62, a systems manager for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had already endured a transplant of a human kidney that had to be removed due to complications and was undergoing dialysis three times a week when he agreed to become a lab pig. It was. – Kidney treatment.
Animal-to-human transplants, known as xenotransplants, could solve the human organ shortage and help hundreds of thousands of Americans suffering from dialysis, the Massachusetts General team said in announcing the successful surgery. He said it is a potential option for the .
Mr. Suleiman appears to be recovering well. He started walking within days of his surgery on March 16th and was discharged from the hospital on April 3rd.
The hospital’s statement Saturday included comments from his family, who said they were “deeply saddened” by Suleiman’s death but grateful for the extra seven weeks they spent with him. They were grateful to learn that his participation in research inspired others.
“Millions of people around the world have come to know Rick’s story. We are comforted by the optimism he gave and continues to give to patients desperately awaiting a transplant. “I felt that this was the case,” the statement reads in part.
Some members of Massachusetts’ general transplant team, who have treated Suleiman for years, praised his generosity and kindness and described him as a “beacon of hope” for other patients. He praised it. “We deeply appreciate his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” the team said.
In 2022 and 2023, two patients who received pig heart transplants at the University of Maryland Medical Center died within two months of the procedure.
A woman who received a pig kidney transplant at NYU Langone Health on April 12 continues to recover. Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the New York University Langone Transplant Institute, said in a statement to USA TODAY that her heart and kidneys were “functioning optimally.”
“She remains in intensive care, but we are making progress through her long health issues,” Montgomery said. “We hope to transition her to a rehabilitation facility in the coming weeks so we can return her home to her family.”
Pig organs used for transplants come from animals that have been gene-edited to make the organs less likely to be rejected by the human immune system.Rejection, common in human-to-human transplants, was likely the cause of death. One of the heart transplant patients, died 6 weeks after surgery. The other two showed no obvious rejection.
Karen Weintraub can be reached at kweintraub@usatoday.com.
