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Topic: "The world's first death in a pig kidney transplant patient"
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According to media reports, on May 11, local time, Richard Slayman, the world's first pig kidney transplant patient, died less than two months after surgery at the age of 62.
In March of this year, Rick Sleman underwent the world's first genetically modified pig kidney transplant, which lasted up to four hours. By early April, Sleman was discharged from the hospital in good condition, widely regarded as a milestone in the medical field, but the end result is still regrettable.
In March, Sleman underwent a transplanted pig kidney transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital
The cause of death was not announced
Family: He stayed on earth for 7 more weeks
According to Red Star News, on May 11, local time, the Massachusetts General Hospital in the United States, the hospital that performed the operation, issued a statement saying that Rick Sleman died suddenly, and the hospital was deeply saddened by it. However, the statement noted that there was no indication that the transplant was the cause of death, and the exact cause of death had not been disclosed.
Slyman's family responded that day that the doctors had put in the effort to get a xenotransplant that kept Sleman alive for an extra seven weeks, "Part of the reason Sleman underwent surgery was to give hope to the thousands of people who needed transplants to survive, and he achieved that goal." His hope and optimism will last forever. ”
Two previous cases of porcine heart transplant patients
Died a few months after surgery
Pigs are regarded as one of the best donor animals for xenotransplantation because of their similar organ structure, physiological function and size to human organs, but there are still many difficulties and risks to be overcome through scientific research and clinical trials.
Two living human pig heart transplants have previously been performed in the United States, but both patients died within months of surgery. Among them, David Bennett, the first patient to receive a xenotransplant heart transplant, died on March 8, 2022, exactly two months after he underwent surgery. Bennett was infected with a virus from pigs that caused heart damage.
Xenotransplantation
Don't live more than two months?
According to a report by Yicai on May 12, for "the world's first pig kidney transplant patient died nearly two months later", Zhu Tongyu, an organ transplant expert and vice president of Shanghai Medical College of Fudan University, said: "The cause of death of the patient can only be known through specific pathological analysis, but the previous two patients who received pig heart transplantation did not live for two months after the transplantation, which shows that xenotransplantation still faces many challenges before it really enters clinical application." ”
Zhu Tongyu believes that the important issues that need to be solved in xenotransplantation include: exploring better immune tolerance induction strategies, focusing on endogenous virus activation, etc. "In the case of immune rejection, it now seems that the problem of hyperacute (within 24 hours) rejection has been solved, but the problem of acute rejection remains." He said.
Source: Red Star News, CCTV News, etc