Massachusetts General Hospital has performed its second successful genetically edited pig kidney transplant into a patient, MGH reported on Friday.
The “miracle” transplant is giving 66-year-old Tim Andrews “a new lease on life,” he said as he’s now recovering and off dialysis for the first time in more than two years.
The 2.5-hour xenotransplant was performed last month by surgeons at the Mass General Transplant Center.
Andrews, of Concord, N.H., has end-stage kidney disease. The dialysis treatment has taken a significant toll on his daily life — leaving him feeling constantly fatigued and unable to keep up with his usual activities.
He also faced severe complications, including a heart attack in July 2023. His path to a kidney transplant was further complicated by his O-group blood type, which significantly extended his wait time.
While most patients wait 3 to 5 years for a kidney, those with O-positive or O-negative blood types often wait 5 to 10 years, making their chances of receiving a donor organ even more difficult.
“As soon as I woke up after the surgery, the cloud of dialysis disappeared,” Andrews said. “I felt re-energized and revitalized. It was a miracle. The magnitude of what these doctors and nurses accomplished is unbelievable and I want to thank them for giving me a new lease on life.
“But this transplant isn’t about me,” he added. “It’s about all the people who I met at the dialysis clinic, and I saw what they were going through. There are more than 500,000 people on dialysis, and I want to inspire them to never give up hope because that’s what this transplant provides. It’s a glimmer of hope.”
Andrews is now the fourth person in the world to receive a genetically-edited pig kidney, and is one of two people currently living with one.
This transplant comes less than a year after MGH became the first hospital in the world to transplant a genetically-edited pig kidney into a living human. Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, last March had the first pig kidney transplant; he died about two months after the procedure.
The pig kidney was provided by Cambridge-based eGenesis, from a pig donor that was genetically-edited using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to remove harmful pig genes, and add certain human genes to improve its compatibility with humans.
“I am extremely proud of our surgical and clinical teams for taking on this endeavor and completing it with great precision and professionalism,” said Shimul Shah, division chief of Transplant and clinical director of the Mass General Transplant Center.
“Their work is a testament to the high standards set at the Mass General Transplant Center, their tireless efforts to advance the field of transplantation, and tremendous energy to find solutions to the worldwide organ shortage,” Shah added. “I also want to thank our patient for his willingness to undergo this transplant. None of this would have been possible without him, and we are grateful for his enthusiasm for spreading awareness of xenotransplantation.”
The procedure was performed under the FDA Expanded Access Protocol, commonly known as compassionate use. This pathway allows patients with serious, life-threatening illnesses or conditions to access experimental treatments when no comparable options are available.
Last December, MGH received FDA approval to proceed with this transplant and plans to perform two additional xenotransplants this year, further advancing the field of xenotransplantation.
“This second xenotransplant provides us with another excellent opportunity to learn how we can make genetically-edited pig organs a viable, long-term solution for patients,” said lead surgeon Tatsuo Kawai, director of the Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance. “Although we have a long way to go to make that a reality, this transplant is an important next step that has given us optimism to achieve that goal.”
