Second Pig Kidney Transplant Patient Dies

Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old grandmother from New Jersey, died after receiving a pioneering combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant at NYU Langone Health. Pisano, who suffered from heart and kidney failure, initially showed signs of recovery but had to have the pig kidney removed after 47 days due to damage caused by her heart medications. Despite returning to dialysis and using the heart pump, she eventually entered hospice care and passed away. Pisano's case marked only the second time a gene-edited pig kidney was transplanted into a living person. Her surgeon, Dr. Robert Montgomery, praised her bravery and contributions to advancing xenotransplantation, emphasizing the potential future benefits of this research in addressing the shortage of transplantable organs. The first recipient of a similar pig kidney transplant, Richard Slayman, also passed away earlier this year due to preexisting heart disease, not the transplant itself.