WASHINGTON: The US hospital that performed the first kidney transplant using genetically modified pigs said that the patient passed away two months after the procedure.
“Mass General is shocked and saddened by Mr. Rick Slayman’s unexpected demise. The Boston hospital stated, “We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant.”
Slayman, who was 62 years old and suffering from end-stage renal disease, had the genetically altered pig kidney transplanted in March by Massachusetts General Hospital surgeons in a first for the world. According to the hospital, the pig kidney that was donated by the biotech company eGenesis had been altered to add certain human genes and remove some detrimental pig genes.
