Surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York City had to remove a genetically modified pig kidney from Towana Looney, 53, of Gadsden, Ala., because her body rejected the organ. She's back on dialysis.
An Alabama grandmother who was the first patient to receive a new kind of genetically modified pig kidney more than two months ago is now the longest surviving recipient of a pig organ.
More than 90,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a kidney transplant. But a kidney shortage means many die on the waitlist or become too sick for a transplant. A new plan would compensate donors.
Doctors say they can boost the odds donated organs will be usable by restarting blood circulation with a pump after donors are declared dead. Critics say the procedure blurs the definition of death.
Surgeons transplanted a kidney and thymus gland from a gene-edited pig into a 54-year-old woman in an attempt to extend her life. It's the latest experimental use of animal organs in humans.
