Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old woman from New Jersey, has made history as the first person to undergo a transplant surgery combining a mechanical heart pump and a gene-edited pig kidney at NYU Langone Health.
Pisano, who suffered from heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, was deemed ineligible for a standard heart or kidney transplant due to other health conditions and the shortage of organs in the US. However, the innovative surgery she underwent involved a gene-edited pig kidney and thymus gland, with the pig’s DNA precisely modified to prevent rejection by the human body.
Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, led the groundbreaking surgery under the FDA’s expanded-access policies for terminally ill patients. This surgery marks the first reported organ transplant in a person with a mechanical heart pump and only the second known transplant of a gene-edited pig kidney into a living recipient.
The gene editing used in the pig was intentionally simpler to allow for easier breeding and scalability, ultimately aiming to alleviate the scarcity of organs available for transplants. Fortunately, Pisano’s newly transplanted kidney is functioning well, and her heart is in improved condition post-surgery. Doctors are closely monitoring for any signs of rejection or infection.
Despite the risks involved, Pisano remains optimistic about the outcome of the surgery, emphasizing the potential for future advancements in organ transplantation. This groundbreaking surgery not only offers hope to patients like Pisano but also highlights the promising potential of xenotransplants in addressing the critical shortage of donor organs in the US.
