Towana Looney Receives Third Pig Kidney Transplant at NYU Langone Health, Freed from Dialysis with 10 Genetic Modifications

Dec 17, 2024, 06:03 PM

Towana Looney, a 53-year-old woman from Alabama, has successfully received a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig, 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. She is currently the only person in the world living with a functioning pig kidney. The procedure is part of ongoing efforts to address the chronic shortage of organ donations, with more than 100,000 people on the U.S. transplant list, most needing kidneys. Looney, who donated a kidney to her mother in 1999, developed kidney failure after a pregnancy complication. The pig kidney she received has 10 genetic modifications to enhance compatibility and reduce rejection risks. Looney was discharged from the hospital 11 days after the surgery and is expected to return home in three months if the kidney continues to function well.