‘One of the happiest moments of my life’: First patient to receive genetically engineered pig kidney released from Mass General
The patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman, a manager with the state Department of Transportation, said he was leaving the hospital with “one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time.” Richard "Rick" Slayman, the first man to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically engineered pig, was released from Massachusetts General Hospital less than three weeks after he underwent the milestone operation. Slayman thanked his team of doctors and expressed his eagerness to return to dialysis free from the burden of dialysis. He also thanked his doctors and nurses for their exceptional care. After seven years on dialysis, Slayman received a donated human kidney in 2018. The successful operation was announced in March after Slayman developed kidney failure due to diabetes and hypertension.
Published : a month ago by Nick Stoico in Health
“I’m excited to resume spending time with my family, friends, and loved ones free from the burden of dialysis that has affected my quality of life for many years,” Slayman said in a statement .
The patient, Richard “Rick” Slayman, a manager with the state Department of Transportation, said he was leaving the hospital with “one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time” and called it “one of the happiest moments of my life.”
The first man to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically engineered pig was released from Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday, officials said, less than three weeks after he underwent the milestone operation.
He also thanked his team of doctors, “especially Dr. [Winfred] Williams, Dr. [Leonardo] Riella, Dr. [Tatsuo] Kawai, and the countless nurses who looked after me every day of my stay.”
“The care I received was exceptional and I trust physicians of the Mass General Brigham health system with my life,” Slayman said.
He also had a message for other patients in need of a kidney transplant.
“Today marks a new beginning not just for me, but for them, as well,” he said.
At a press conference announcing the successful operation in March, Williams, associate chief of the renal division at Mass. General and a transplant nephrologist who has known Slayman for more than a decade, said Slayman developed kidney failure as a result of diabetes and hypertension.
After seven years on dialysis, Slayman received a donated human kidney in 2018. A year ago, the kidney failed and Slayman went back on dialysis, which was especially grueling for him because of repeated difficulties accessing his blood vessels.
On March 16, doctors removed two kidneys from the donor pig, including one as a backup, put them on ice, and delivered them to the hospital, where Slayman was already unconscious on the operating table.
They cut open Slayman’s lower abdomen on the left side, and attached the blood vessels of the new kidney to his, clamping them closed to avoid bleeding. At that point, the pig kidney lay pale and beige inside Slayman’s abdomen, drained of its own blood. Then the surgeons removed the clamps, and Slayman’s blood flowed into the transplanted organ, turning it a vivid pink, suddenly alive.
Material from previous Globe coverage was used in this report.
Nick Stoico can be reached at [email protected].