Lisa Pisano, a 54-year-old grandmother from New Jersey, has become the first-ever recipient of a combined pig kidney and mechanical heart pump transplant. The groundbreaking procedure, performed earlier this month at NYU Langone Health, offers hope to individuals facing end-stage organ failure and a shortage of human organ donations.
Pisano, who suffers from both end-stage kidney disease and heart failure, was not a candidate for a traditional heart and kidney transplant due to her complex medical conditions. However, the combined pig kidney and heart pump transplant has provided her with a new lease on life.
On April 4, surgeons implanted a heart pump called a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) on Pisano. Then, on April 12, they performed a successful gene-edited pig kidney transplant on her. The transplant included a pig’s thymus gland to help prevent her body from rejecting the animal organ.
Nearly two weeks later, Pisano has not shown any signs of organ rejection. Lead surgeon Robert Montgomery stated, ‘It is incredible to consider the scientific achievements that have led to our ability to save Lisa’s life, and what we are endeavoring to do as a society for everyone in need of a lifesaving organ.’
Montgomery, who performed the world’s first gene-edited pig kidney transplant to a brain-dead person in 2021, said Pisano’s procedure will ‘bring closer the possibility that no one will have to die, waiting for someone else to die, so they can be saved’.
Pisano’s daughter, Brittany Harvill, expressed her hope that her mother will soon be able to go home and spend time with her grandkids. ‘I saw her for the first time after the surgery – and even this morning,’ said Harvill. ‘And she looks like the best she’s looked and sounds in years.’
Pisano’s successful transplant marks a significant milestone in the field of organ transplantation and offers hope to countless individuals waiting for life-saving organs.
