The woman received a kidney and thymus from a pig. This is the first such procedure in history

The surgery was quite a challenge. The woman was struggling not only with kidney failure. She also had serious heart problems. Therefore, doctors first decided to implant the patient with a special mechanical pump to support the heart. Then they performed a kidney and thymus transplant. The organs were taken from pigs and genetically modified to reduce the risk of rejection.

This is unique on a global scale

New York doctors emphasize that so far there have been no documented cases of transplantation in people with a mechanical heart pump. Moreover, a kidney and thymus transplant from a pig has never been performed before.

“This could not have been achieved without the dedication and skill of many talented physicians, researchers, nurses, health care administrators and perioperative care teams … as well as the numerous pioneers who have come before us,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health , who directed the procedure.

It is worth emphasizing that an innovative operation was the only salvation for a 54-year-old woman. A large number of antibodies were detected in her body that would attack the human donor's organ, increasing the risk of transplant failure. Therefore, doctors decided to perform a xenograft and genetically modify the collected organs.

Xenografts are an alternative to traditional transplants

A xenograft is the transplantation of an organ or tissue from an individual of another species. “By using pig organs and genetically modifying them, we are able to better understand the role that a single change in the genome can play in making xenotransplantation a viable alternative to traditional transplants,” Dr. Montgomery said. Xenotransplantations can help solve the problem of the shortage of human organs for transplantation and save the lives of patients who often wait for years for their chance at a second life.