Second Patient Given Genetically Modified Pig Kidney Dies
A 54-year-old New Jersey woman who became the second person to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig and lived with the organ for 47 days died Sunday, surgeons at NYU Langone Health announced Tuesday.The patient, Lisa Pisano, was critically ill, suffering from both kidney and heart failure. She received the pig kidney on April 12, just eight days after being implanted with a mechanical heart pump.Surgeons were forced to remove the kidney on May 29 after it was damaged by inadequate blood flow related to the heart pump. After the removal, Ms. Pisano resumed kidney dialysis but was eventually transferred to palliative care.Ms. Pisano made medical history as the first person with a heart pump who also received an organ transplant. Patients with kidney failure are usually...