NYU Langone Health. Credit: Shutterstock, John Penney
Towana Looney, a 53-year-old woman from Alabama, USA, has become the longest-living transplant recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney. She has now surpassed two months since her groundbreaking transplant at NYU Langone Health.
Her recovery marks a significant milestone in the field of xenotransplantation, the experimental science of transplanting animal organs into humans.
“I’m superwoman,” Looney joked to the Associated Press, describing how she’s outpacing her family on long walks around New York City. “It’s a new take on life.”
Looney is the first person in history to live beyond two months with a functioning pig kidney. Previously, only four other patients had received gene-edited pig organs – two hearts and two kidneys – but sadly none of them survived beyond the eight-week mark.
Towana Looney’s life before her pig kidney transplant
Before the transplant, Looney spent eight years on dialysis after complications from a previous kidney donation to her mother left her with high blood pressure and kidney failure. Doctors concluded she was unlikely to receive a human transplant due to an unusually high level of antibodies that would attack a donated organ.
Looney volunteered for the experimental transplant at NYU Langone Health. The surgery took place on November 25, 2024, with a genetically modified pig kidney provided by United Therapeutics, a biotech company currently seeking FDA approval for human trials.
Since then, Looney has been closely monitored, undergoing daily checkups to track her recovery. Worryingly, just three weeks after the transplant, doctors detected early signs of rejection but successfully reversed it. Since then, the kidney has functioned “absolutely normally,” according to Dr. Robert Montgomery, the lead surgeon.
The success of Looney’s transplant brings hope for the 100,000+ people on the U.S. transplant waiting list, most of whom need kidneys. Thousands die each year due to the shortage of human organs.
“This is a big deal,” Montgomery told NPR. “If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea that she’s the only person in the world walking around with a pig organ inside them that’s functioning.”
Scientists are working to genetically modify pigs, so their organs are more human-like, reducing the risk of rejection. Two companies, United Therapeutics and eGenesis, are racing to develop organs suitable for human transplantation.
However, ethical concerns remain. Some bioethicists warn of potential animal virus transmission, while others question whether xenotransplantation is exploitative. Despite this, the FDA has allowed such procedures under its “compassionate use” programme for patients without alternatives.
In the next month, Looney hopes to return home to Gadsden, Alabama, where she looks forward to reuniting with her husband, daughters, and grandchildren. She also plans to resume her job as a cashier at Dollar General and travel more.
The FDA is expected to decide soon whether to approve the first formal clinical trials, potentially paving the way for widespread use of xenotransplantation in the coming years. What are your thoughts on animal-to-human transplants? Let us know if the comment below.
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