First recipient of genetically edited pig kidney transplant dies

Richard Slayman, who made medical history as the first recipient of a genetically edited pig kidney, passed away nearly two months post-surgery.

Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, which did the transplant, clarified that Slayman’s death wasn’t directly linked to the organ transplant.

Aged 62, Slayman battled kidney disease for over a decade, surviving a human kidney transplant in 2018 before opting for the groundbreaking xenotransplant—a process of transplanting cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.