53-Year-Old Alabama Woman Receives Third Pig Kidney Transplant with 10 Gene Edits, Ends Dialysis

Dec 17, 2024, 04:31 PM

Towana Looney, a 53-year-old woman from Alabama, has successfully received a genetically modified pig kidney transplant, marking the third such procedure performed on a living person. The transplant, conducted on November 25, 2024, at NYU Langone Health in New York, has freed Looney from eight years of dialysis. This latest effort in xenotransplantation aims to address the chronic shortage of organs for human transplantation. Looney's kidney was sourced from a pig with 10 gene edits, designed to enhance compatibility and reduce the risk of rejection. She is currently the only person in the world living with a functional pig kidney. Her doctors report that she is doing well, with the kidney functioning as intended, and she hopes to return home to Alabama in three months.