Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have achieved a milestone by successfully completing the world's first combined heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgeries. This remarkable surgery was carried out on Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old woman from New Jersey, who was battling heart failure and end-stage kidney disease.
Pisano's medical condition left her with limited options for treatment, as she was not eligible for traditional heart or kidney transplants due to other chronic illnesses. Considering the seriousness of her condition, medical professionals at NYU Langone came up with a unique plan: they would install a mechanical heart pump to support her failing heart and then remove her kidney and transplant it from a genetically modified pig.
The procedure, conducted in two separate surgeries over the course of 12 days in early April, involved implanting a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) to support Pisano's heart function. Following this, she underwent the transplant of a pig kidney, which had been gene-edited for compatibility and included the pig's thymus gland to aid in reducing the risk of organ rejection.
Dr. Nader Moazami, a cardiac surgeon at NYU Langone, emphasized the significance of this combined approach, stating that Pisano would not have been eligible for an LVAD without the subsequent kidney transplant. This innovative strategy represents a critical advancement in addressing the challenges faced by patients with dual organ failure.
Pisano's transplant was successful, it is only the second known case of a living recipient receiving a kidney from a gene-edited pig. The achievement recalls a similar milestone at Massachusetts General Hospital, when a 62-year-old patient with end-stage kidney disease underwent a pig kidney transplant.
Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of organs between different species, holds immense promise as a solution to the chronic shortage of organ donors. However, the body's immune response to foreign tissue presents significant challenges. Scientists are leveraging genetic modification to enhance compatibility between animal organs and human recipients, paving the way for more successful transplants.
Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, underscored the transformative impact of these procedures, not only in prolonging patients' lives but also in restoring their quality of life. For Pisano, the prospect of recovering her health means the opportunity to engage fully in activities she once enjoyed, including spending time with her grandchildren.
Although Pisano's recovery is still in progress, the initial signs are positive, with no signs of organ rejection observed thus far. The medical community eagerly awaits further developments in xenotransplantation, which could revolutionize organ transplantation and save countless lives in the process.
NYU Langone's achievement in combining a mechanical heart pump with a gene-edited pig kidney transplant represents significant progress forward in the field of organ transplantation. This innovative approach offers hope to patients facing complex medical challenges and shows potential for transplant treatment in the future.
(Input from various media sources)
(Rehash/ Susmita Bhandary/MSM)
