A US woman has become the world’s longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant, after living healthily with her new kidney for 61 days.
Towana Looney, 53, received the experimental organ in November after spending nearly eight years on the organ transplant list with little hope of finding a match.
She donated a kidney to her mother in 1999 but developed kidney failure several years later after a complication during pregnancy.
But now, she said she feels like “superwoman” after the successful transplant, laughing about outpacing family members on long walks around New York City.
“It’s a new take on life,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
She left the hospital just 11 days after her operation and is staying in New York for another month to be observed by doctors before heading home to Alabama.
Only four other Americans have received transplants of gene-edited pig organs and none lived for more than two months.
“If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea that she’s the only person in the world walking around with a pig organ inside them that’s functioning,” said Dr Robert Montgomery from NYU Langone Health, who led Ms Looney’s transplant.
Dr Montgomery called Ms Looney’s kidney function “absolutely normal”.
Ms Looney’s success means her medical team are now in unchartered territory.
“The truth is we don’t really know what the next hurdles are because this is the first time we’ve gotten this far,” Dr Montgomery said.
“We’ll have to continue to really keep a close eye on her.”
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Genetically altered pig organs could help solve a severe shortage of organs available for transplant.
There are around 7,500 people on the UK Transplant Waiting List, according to the NHS.
Last year more than 415 people died while waiting for a transplant.
In the US, more than 100,000 people are waiting for a transplant, most who need a kidney.
“It’s a blessing,” said Looney. “I feel like I’ve been given another chance at life. I cannot wait to be able to travel again and spend more quality time with my family and grandchildren.”
There have been no UK transplants like Ms Looney’s, but in the US a handful of hospitals are sharing information about what worked and what did not.
That’s in preparation for the world’s first formal studies of xenotransplantation, which is expected to begin some time this year.
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“Towana represents the culmination of progress we have made in xenotransplantation since we performed the first surgery in 2021,” said Dr Montgomery.
“She serves as a beacon of hope to those struggling with kidney failure.”
