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A Massachusetts man who received the world’s first genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died

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The Massachusetts man who received the world’s first successful genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died less than two months after the procedure. Richard Slayman of Weymouth underwent surgery March 16 at Massachusetts General Hospital and received a pig kidney with 69 genomic changes. The 62-year-old was discharged from Mass General on April 3 after weeks of recovery and said he was leaving the hospital “with one of the cleanest records of health I have had in a long time,” a statement from Massachusetts General Hospital said no evidence suggests that Slayman’s death was due to his recipient’s transplant. “The transplant team at Mass General is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Mr. Rick Slayman,” the MGH statement said. “Mr. Slayman will forever be a beacon of hope for countless transplant patients around the world, and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation. We extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Slayman’s family and loved ones.” Remember an extraordinary person whose generosity and kindness touched all who knew him. Rick’s story. The optimism he brought to patients desperately waiting for a transplant comforted us – and we still do. “To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humor who was passionate about his family, friends, and colleagues,” the family’s statement said. “We are extremely grateful to his care team at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General Brigham … who truly went above and beyond to give Rick a second chance. Your tremendous efforts in directing the xenotransplantation gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories from that time will remain in our minds and hearts. “Slayman, who had lived with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for many years, was suffering from end-stage renal disease at the time of the pig kidney transplant. He previously received a kidney transplant from a deceased human donor in December 2018 after being on dialysis seven years earlier. His transplanted human kidney showed signs of failure about five years later and Slayman resumed dialysis in May 2023. After resuming dialysis, Slayman suffered a relapse of dialysis vascular access complications, requiring biweekly hospital visits for bleeding and surgical revisions, a common problem among dialysis patients, which significantly affected his quality of life. Slayman said his nephrologist and the MGH Transplant Center team suggested a pig kidney transplant. He carefully explained the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure. “After his transplant, Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to give hope to thousands of people who need a transplant to survive. Rick achieved that goal and fulfilled his hope. “The optimism will last forever,” Slayman’s family said in their statement. “His legacy will inspire patients, researchers and healthcare professionals around the world. Our family requests respectful privacy as we remember the beautiful soul of our beloved Rick.” The pig kidney was provided by eGenesis of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a pig donor who was genetically modified using technology to remove harmful pig genes and certain adding human genes to improve his compatibility with humans. Mass General also said scientists had deactivated endogenous porcine retroviruses in the pig donor to eliminate any risk of infection in humans. The procedure was conducted under a single FDA expanded access protocol — known as “compassionate use” — granted to an individual patient or group of patients with serious, life-threatening diseases or conditions to gain access to experimental treatments or studies , if no comparable treatment options or therapies exist. Previous coverage:

BOSTON –

The Massachusetts man who received the world’s first successful genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died less than two months after the procedure.

Richard Slayman of Weymouth underwent surgery March 16 at Massachusetts General Hospital and received a pig kidney with 69 genomic changes.

The 62-year-old was discharged from Mass General on April 3 after weeks of recovery and said he is leaving the hospital “with one of the cleanest records of health I’ve had in a long time.”

In a statement, Massachusetts General Hospital said there was no evidence that Slayman’s death was due to a transplant from his recipient.

“The transplant team at Mass General is deeply saddened by the sudden death of Mr. Rick Slayman,” the MGH statement said. “Mr. Slayman will forever be a beacon of hope for countless transplant patients around the world, and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation. We extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Slayman’s family and loved ones.” Remember an extraordinary person whose generosity and kindness touched all who knew him.

Slayman’s family said they were deeply saddened by his sudden death, but also noted that it was a great comfort to them to know that he inspired so many people.

“Millions of people around the world have learned Rick’s story. The optimism he brought to patients desperately waiting for a transplant comforted us – and continues to comfort us. “To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humor who was passionate about his family, friends and colleagues,” the family’s statement said. “We are extremely grateful to his care team at Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General Brigham … who truly went above and beyond to give Rick a second chance. Your tremendous efforts in directing the xenotransplantation have given our family seven more weeks with Rick, and the memories made during this time will remain in our minds and hearts.”

Rick Slayman

Michelle Rose

Richard Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts

Slayman, who had lived with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure for many years, was suffering from end-stage renal disease at the time of the pig kidney transplant. He previously received a kidney transplant from a deceased human donor in December 2018 after being on dialysis seven years earlier.

His transplanted human kidney showed signs of failure about five years later and Slayman resumed dialysis in May 2023. After resuming dialysis, Slayman continued to experience complications with dialysis vascular access, requiring hospital visits every two weeks for exsanguination and surgical revisions, a common problem in dialysis patients that significantly affected his quality of life.

Slayman said his nephrologist and the MGH Transplant Center team suggested a porcine kidney transplant and carefully explained the pros and cons of this procedure.

“After his transplant, Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to give hope to the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive. “Rick achieved this goal and his hope and optimism will last forever,” Slayman’s family said in their statement. “His legacy will inspire patients, researchers and healthcare professionals around the world. Our family requests respectful privacy as we remember the beautiful soul of our beloved Rick.”

The pig kidney was provided by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based eGenesis from a pig donor and genetically modified using technology to remove harmful pig genes and add certain human genes to improve compatibility with humans. Mass General also said scientists deactivated endogenous porcine retroviruses in the pig donor to eliminate any risk of infection in humans.

The procedure was conducted under a single FDA expanded access protocol – known as compassionate use – which allows an individual patient or group of patients with serious, life-threatening diseases or conditions access to experimental treatments or studies when no comparable treatment options or Therapies exist exist.

Previous reporting:

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