Richard Slayman, the first individual to receive a kidney from a pig, has passed away, according to Massachusetts General Hospital, where the transplant took place in March.
In a statement released late Saturday, the transplant team reported that they “have no indication” that Slayman’s death was linked to the transplant, which the hospital had celebrated as a significant scientific milestone.
Slayman, 62, a systems manager for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had previously undergone a human kidney transplant, which had to be removed due to complications.
He was also undergoing dialysis three times a week when he opted for the experimental pig-kidney procedure.
When the hospital announced that the surgery had been successful, they highlighted that such animal-to-human transplants, known as xenotransplantation, could potentially address the human organ shortage and provide a viable option for the hundreds of thousands of Americans undergoing dialysis.
Slayman appeared to be recovering well, walking within a few days of the March 16 procedure and being discharged from the hospital on April 3.
The hospital’s statement on Saturday included remarks from his family, expressing their “deep sadness” at his passing but also their gratitude for the additional seven weeks they had with him. They valued his participation in the research as a source of inspiration to others.
“Millions of people worldwide have come to know Rick’s story. We felt – and still feel – comforted by the optimism he provided patients desperately waiting for a transplant,” the statement said in part.
Members of the transplant team at Mass. General, some of whom had treated Slayman for years, praised his generosity and kindness, calling him a “beacon of hope” for other patients.
“We are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” the team said.
In related news, two patients who received pig hearts at the University of Maryland Medical Center also died within two months of their procedures in 2022 and 2023.
However, a woman who received a pig kidney at NYU Langone Health on April 12 is continuing to recover. Her heart and kidney are “functioning optimally,” according to Dr. Robert Montgomery, who leads the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, in a statement to USA TODAY.
Lisa Pisano, who was near death earlier this month, received both a heart pump and a pig kidney. “While she remains under intensive care, we see progress after her long history of difficult health challenges,” Montgomery said.
“We hope to transition her to rehab in the next few weeks so we can get her back home to her family.”
The pig organs used in these transplants come from animals that are genetically modified to reduce the likelihood of rejection by the human immune system.
Rejection, which is common in human-to-human transplants, likely contributed to the death of one of the heart transplant patients, who died six weeks after surgery. No rejection was observed in the other two cases.
