Key points from article :
A 53-year-old woman from Alabama, Towana Looney, has made history as the world’s longest-living recipient of a pig organ transplant, thriving for 61 days with a gene-edited pig kidney. Ms. Looney, who suffered from kidney failure for years and spent nearly a decade on the organ transplant waiting list, received the groundbreaking transplant in November at NYU Langone Health in New York. Remarkably, she left the hospital just 11 days after the surgery and says she feels like "superwoman," now enjoying a renewed sense of vitality.
This milestone, led by Dr. Robert Montgomery and his team, marks uncharted territory in xenotransplantation, a field that could potentially alleviate the critical shortage of organs for transplant. In the US alone, over 100,000 people are on transplant waiting lists, with most needing kidneys. Ms. Looney’s kidney is functioning "absolutely normally," giving hope to patients worldwide, although doctors remain vigilant about unknown challenges ahead.
The success of Ms. Looney’s transplant highlights the promise of genetically modified pig organs as a viable solution to the global organ shortage. Hospitals in the US are collaborating to share insights in preparation for formal studies of xenotransplantation, expected to begin soon. Dr. Montgomery described the achievement as a beacon of hope for those suffering from kidney failure, while Ms. Looney looks forward to traveling and spending more time with her family, embracing what she calls her "second chance at life."
