Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old New Jersey native afflicted with heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, underwent the remarkable two-stage procedure earlier this month. The first stage involved the implantation of a heart pump, as her life expectancy without the device was limited to mere days or weeks. Subsequently, a second surgical team conducted the groundbreaking pig kidney transplant on April 12th. This transplant marks the second instance of a gene-edited pig kidney transplant, offering hope for alleviating the critical shortage of human organs available for transplantation. Dr. Nader Moazami, Chief of the Heart and Lung Transplantation Division at NYU’s School of Medicine, expressed the profound significance of this medical achievement: “The measure for success is a chance at a better quality of life and to give Lisa more time to spend with her family.”
The combined heart pump implant and pig kidney transplant performed on Lisa Pisano signifies a major breakthrough in organ transplantation. It offers renewed hope to the vast number of individuals grappling with end-stage organ failure and awaiting life-saving transplants. The estimated 104,000 individuals currently on the transplant waiting list, over 89,000 of whom are desperately in need of a kidney, may find solace in this groundbreaking medical feat.
