Richard Slayman, the first person to ever receive a kidney from a pig, has died, according to Massachusetts General Hospital, where the transplant was performed in March.
In a statement late Saturday, the transplant team said they “have no indication” Slayman’s death was the result of the transplant, which the hospital had heralded as a major scientific achievement.
Slayman, 62, a systems manager for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, had already endured a transplant with a human kidney that had to be removed because of complications and was struggling with three-times-a-week dialysis when he agreed to the experimental pig-kidney procedure.
When they announced that surgery had been successful, the Mass. General team said such animal-to-human transplants, known as xenotransplantation, offer the possibility of solving the human organ shortage and a potential option for the hundreds of thousands of Americans suffering on dialysis.
Slayman appeared to be recovering well. He walked within a few days of the March 16 procedure and was released from the hospitalApril 3.
The hospital’s Saturday statement included comments from family members, saying they were “deeply saddened” by his passing but grateful for the extra seven weeks they had with Slayman. They appreciated knowing his participation in the research offered inspiration to others.
“Millions of people worldwide have come to know Rick’s story. We felt – and still feel – comforted by the optimism he provided patients desperately waiting for a transplant,” the statement said, in part.
