Organ transplants

Slayman received his first kidney transplant in 2018 from a human donor. The donor kidney initially functioned well, but Slayman started to go into kidney failure after years of living with diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, which can eventually result in kidney failure.He had no choice but to go on dialysis, a treatment that removes excess fluid and waste from a person’s blood. But the dialysis caused complications—his blood vessels were clotting and failing. Slayman wound up in the hospital…

That has led researchers to genetically alter pigs in an attempt to make their organs a better match. The biotech company that bred the pig for the Penn study, eGenesis of Cambridge, Massaschetts, is aiming to do that with gene editing. Scientists at the company used Crispr to make a total of 69 genetic edits to the animal. These included knocking out three pig genes to prevent immediate immune rejection and inserting seven human genes involved in inflammation, immunity, and blood clotting. The remaining edits disabled…

Lawrence Faucette, the 58-year-old patient with terminal heart disease who was the second person to receive a genetically engineered pig heart, died on October 30, according to a statement from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where the transplant was performed.Faucette received the transplant on September 20 and lived for six weeks—less time than the first recipient, despite extra precautions by the Maryland team. Initially, Faucette made progress following his surgery. He was doing physical…

There are more than 100,000 people in the United States waiting for an organ transplant, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing, known as UNOS."I was born Type 1 diabetic," said Patrick McGlone, who received a dual kidney-pancreas transplant in June 2021. "There was always the word transplant thrown around. But I never thought it'd be a possibility."It can be a long wait because of the organ shortage. Only a little more than 50% of people waiting for an organ will receive one within five years, according to…