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Two months ago, a resident of Boston, USA, received a pig kidney transplant. The man, Richard Rick Sleiman, died within two months of the operation. Richard was 62 years old at the time of his death. But the hospital where his kidney was transplanted claimed there was no indication that Richard’s death was due to the kidney transplant.
Richard had suffered from type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for years before the kidney transplant. Incidentally, Richard had a kidney transplant once before. That operation took place in 2018. After being well for a few years, he got into trouble again. Dialysis should be started. In this condition, doctors transplanted pig kidney in his body. It was claimed, with the help of this kidney, Richard can live in a healthy condition for at least 2 years.
Earlier, pig kidneys were experimentally transplanted into brain-dead patients. In addition, two pig heart transplants were attempted in brain dead patients. But it was not successful. Richard was the first living person to receive a pig organ transplant. Last March, Richard underwent a pig kidney transplant at the Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States
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The operation lasted for four long hours. After two weeks of observation, he was discharged from the hospital in April. And he died two days ago. Meanwhile, the doctors of that hospital have expressed deep grief over the death of Richard Rick Sleman. However, they said, there was no indication that Richard died due to the kidney being transplanted into his body.
Earlier in September 2021, doctors had succeeded in temporarily connecting a kidney to a person. That kidney was genetically modified. Incidentally, this transplanted into Richard’s body was also genetically modified. According to reports, 69 genes were altered in Richard’s transplanted pig kidney.
Researchers conducted a special investigation to confirm the suitability of a pig kidney for human consumption. As part of this study, they collected seven genome samples from pig kidneys and supplemented three with human genomes. This approach aims to increase consistency. Additionally, they identified and neutralized several endogenous retroviruses present in pig kidneys that could potentially cause disease. Scientists hypothesize that these endogenous retroviruses may play a role in earlier failed transplant procedures.
