Breaking Boundaries: The First-of-Its-Kind Mechanical Heart Pump and Pig Kidney Transplant

In a groundbreaking medical procedure, doctors in America recently performed a mechanical heart pump and pig kidney transplant on a living patient for the first time. The patient, Lisa Pisano, 54, from New Jersey, suffers from heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, requiring regular hemodialysis.

Pisano expressed her willingness to explore all treatment options available to her, given her deteriorating health condition. This procedure marks the first reported organ transplant using a mechanical heart pump and the second instance of a live pig kidney transplant in a human. Another patient who underwent a similar procedure, Rick Slayman, has been discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital in good health.

Dr. Robert Montgomery, the director of NYU Langone Transplant Institute, led Pisano’s surgery and emphasized the urgency of the procedure given her poor health condition. Pisano had a complex medical history, including previous diagnoses of colon cancer and the necessity for a urinary catheter. Her situation was further complicated by underlying health conditions that prevented her from receiving organ transplants through conventional means.

The innovative procedure involved a genetically modified pig kidney, which had its alpha-gal sugar gene disrupted to prevent rejection by the immune system. Dr. Montgomery explained that this approach simplifies the gene editing process for living organ transplants and addresses the challenges of organ scarcity. While Pisano still has a long road to recovery ahead, her kidneys and heart are functioning better post-surgery, and doctors are monitoring her progress closely.

Pisano shared that she had struggled to walk and breathe before the surgery but now feels a significant improvement in her quality of life. The medical community is closely watching the outcomes of these pioneering procedures to potentially expand access to life-saving treatments for patients with no other alternatives.

Doctors at NYU Langone Hospital performed an unprecedented medical procedure involving both a mechanical heart pump and pig kidney transplant on Lisa Pisano on April 12th.

Pisano is 54 years old from New Jersey and suffers from severe heart failure as well as end-stage kidney disease.

To treat her weakened heart muscle, she received an artificial heart pump called Jarvik-7 on April 4th.

Afterward, she underwent gene-edited pig kidney transplantation on April 12th.

The surgical team was led by Dr. Robert Montgomery at NYU Langone Transplant Institute.

Dr Montgomery explained that this innovative technique eliminates rejection issues associated with traditional animal organs due to genetic modification.

Another patient who went through similar surgery was Rick Slayman who was discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital after his successful recovery.