Daijiworld Media Network - New York

New York, Apr 12: In a significant milestone for transplant medicine, doctors at NYU Langone Hospital have revealed that Towana Looney, a woman in her fifties from Alabama, lived for 130 days with a genetically modified pig kidney the longest recorded period for such a transplant.

Looney, who had been on dialysis for eight years due to kidney failure, received the pig kidney on November 25, 2023. While the organ functioned effectively for over four months, doctors had to remove it in early April after her body began rejecting it.

The breakthrough had raised hopes of addressing the global shortage of human kidneys. “What triggered the rejection episode is still being investigated,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, chair of surgery at NYU Langone. He noted that Looney’s immune suppression had been lowered to treat an unrelated infection, which may have led to the rejection.

Looney, who had donated a kidney to her mother in 1999, expressed gratitude despite the outcome. “Though the result is not what we hoped for, I’m proud of the progress made. It gives hope to many others,” she said.

Doctors said Looney is recovering well and remains eligible for a human kidney transplant in the future.