--- title: A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant description: The Massachusetts man is doing well and is expected to leave the hospital soon. canonical: https://time.com/6959197/first-pig-kidney-transplant/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-03-21T19:40:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:40:46.779Z article:section: Health og:title: A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant og:description: The Massachusetts man is doing well and is expected to leave the hospital soon. og:url: https://time.com/6959197/first-pig-kidney-transplant/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt398fb04dea24b36b/698a5507d075339f57e709af/20240316_mcr_kidney_transplant_188.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 8192 og:image:height: 4608 og:image:alt: 20240316_mcr_kidney_transplant_188 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant twitter:description: The Massachusetts man is doing well and is expected to leave the hospital soon. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt398fb04dea24b36b/698a5507d075339f57e709af/20240316_mcr_kidney_transplant_188.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:45 video:published: 2024-03-22 section: health topics: pig kidney transplant, xenotransplantation, gene editing, CRISPR-Cas9, kidney failure, dialysis, organ shortage, deceased-donor waiting list, cloned mini pigs, transplant rejection genre: news report, medical explainer tones: informative, hopeful, technical, optimistic emotions: hope (high), optimism (medium), relief (medium) sentiment: positive audience: general news viewers, patients awaiting organ transplants, medical professionals, science enthusiasts products: CRISPR-Cas9 content_suitability: health controversy [01:51-02:45] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=4e0fe893-16b4-4ec1-9f95-1536d2e8da4c&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant [Watch (HLS stream): A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/xfWg9KIA.m3u8) (2:45)  _Published 2024-03-22. The first reported person in the world has received a genetically modified pig kidney. A transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully performed the groundbreaking, four-hour procedure on Richard Slayman, a 62-year-old manager at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, on March 16. His doctors report he is doing well and expect him to leave the hospital soon._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video covers the announcement of the first gene-edited pig kidney transplant into a living human. A speaker explains why the procedure matters for patients waiting on deceased-donor lists and describes the patient's struggles with dialysis. The video explains how gene editing addressed pig-human incompatibility and why pigs were chosen over other animals. It also describes the cloned mini pigs from a specific strain that were used for the transplant. ## Key points - The speaker announces the successful completion of the first gene-edited kidney transplant into a living human being, calling it a major breakthrough. (00:00) - Many patients waiting for a deceased-donor kidney will never reach the top of the list, so the procedure could give them alternatives in the near future. (00:14) - The patient struggled on dialysis because of vascular access problems, needing close to three surgeries a month to keep that access open. (00:29) - After the transplant the patient is off dialysis, and his dialysis access line is being removed because the kidney controls his minerals and water balance. (00:41) - A pig kidney transplanted into a human without modification is immediately rejected because of incompatibilities between pigs and humans. (01:01) - CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing allowed targeted changes to pig genes; 69 gene edits were made to make the pig kidney more compatible with humans. (01:21) - Pigs were chosen because they are similar in size to humans and their kidney function is almost exactly the same. (01:51) - The pigs are cloned mini pigs from a specific strain, raised in a very contained environment without risk of infection, unlike wild pigs. (02:11) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:14] Announcing the first gene-edited kidney transplant. The speaker announces the successful transplant of a gene-edited kidney into a living human and calls it a major breakthrough. - [00:14 to 00:29] Hope for patients awaiting kidneys. The speaker explains that many patients on the deceased-donor list will never receive a kidney, and this offers new hope. - [00:29 to 01:01] The patient's dialysis struggles and recovery. The patient's repeated surgeries for dialysis access are described, followed by his transplant and coming off dialysis. - [01:01 to 01:51] Overcoming pig-human incompatibility with gene editing. The speaker explains immediate rejection of unmodified pig kidneys and how CRISPR-Cas9 and 69 gene edits addressed it. - [01:51 to 02:45] Why pigs and how they were bred. The speaker explains the choice of pigs and describes the cloned, genetically modified mini pigs raised in contained conditions. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Speaker: "we announced today the successful completion of the first big" - [00:11] Speaker: "this is a major breakthrough in transplanting Shannon since" - [00:22] Speaker: "So this would add a lot of Hope to these patients that will" - [00:45] Speaker: "He has me off dialysis." - [01:10] Speaker: "There's an immediate rejection of that kid over the years." - [01:38] Speaker: "There was 69 Jean added dreams." ## Questions this video answers - Why did the patient need a new kidney approach beyond dialysis? [00:29] - Why is the first gene-edited kidney transplant considered a breakthrough? [00:11] - Why is an unmodified pig kidney rejected by the human body? [01:01] - How was gene editing used to make pig kidneys compatible with humans? [01:21] - Why were pigs chosen instead of monkeys or other animals? [01:51] - How are the pigs used for the transplant raised? [02:11] ## Content suitability - health controversy [01:51-02:45]: Discusses using cloned, genetically modified animals as organ sources for human transplantation.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2024 7:40 PM UTC The first reported person in the world has received a genetically modified pig kidney. A transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully performed the groundbreaking, four-hour procedure on Richard Slayman, a 62-year-old manager at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, on March 16\. His doctors report he is doing well and expect him to leave the hospital soon.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 21, 2024 7:40 PM UTC The first reported person in the worldhas received a genetically modified pig kidney. A transplant surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully performed the groundbreaking, four-hour procedure on Richard Slayman, a 62-year-old manager at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, on March 16\. His doctors report he is doing well and expect him to leave the hospital soon. The surgery was the culmination of years of work transplanting kidneys from a specially bred group of pigs—which had been genetically modified to more closely resemble those of humans—into primates. Encouraged by those results, the team at Mass General Brigham—the health system to which the hospital belongs—was confident it was time to test the pig organs in the first patient. Slayman had received a human kidney transplant five years ago, but like so many people with kidney disease, the organ began to fail and he continued to need dialysis. Even those frequent efforts to replenish his kidney function weren’t enough, however, and his health progressively worsened. “At one point, he literally said, I just cannot go on like this,” said Dr. Winfred Williams, Slayman's physician and associate chair of nephrology at Massachusetts General Hospital, during a March 21 briefing. Dr. Tatsuo Kawai, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Legorreta Center for Clinical Transplant Tolerance, was Slayman’s kidney transplant surgeon five years ago, and he also performed the pig-kidney surgery. While more than a dozen people in the operating room watched, Kawai carefully connected the pig kidney to Slayman's circulatory system—not an easy task, given the patient's history of diabetes and hypertension, which had weakened his blood vessels. “The size of the pig kidney was exactly the same as the human kidney,” Kawai said during the briefing. “Upon restoration of blood flow into the kidney, the kidney pinked up immediately and started to make urine. When we saw the first urine output, everyone in the operating room burst into applause. It was truly the most beautiful kidney I have ever seen.” ## The pig donor The kidney came from a special group of pigs bred to produce human-like kidneys. eGenesis, a biotech company that has been studying ways to make animal tissues as human as possible, worked closely with the research team at Mass General Brigham to come up with the right genetic animal donors that would make their organs safe enough to transplant into people, and effective enough to take over their kidney function. Several genetic innovations over the past few decades made such a feat possible. The pigs’ cells were treated with the gene-editing technology CRISPR, which allows scientists to make very precise genetic changes in cells. These CRISPR-ed cells were then used to create pig clones so the pigs would have identical and consistent genetic changes. Their kidneys were then transplanted first into primates, and finally into Slayman. All told, the pig kidneys contained 69 genetic changes in three major categories. The scientists knocked out or eliminated three pig genes that trigger immediate rejection by the human immune system, added seven human genes to make the pig tissue appear more human to the immune cells, and inactivated viral genes in pig cells that could cause infections. They also used a unique cocktail of antibody treatments to further dampen the immune reaction and give the transplanted kidney the best chance of surviving in the patient. ## Next steps eGenesis is working on other pig organs as well. In January, the company partnered with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania to [transplant a genetically modified pig liver](https://time.com/6563767/pig-liver-transplant/) into a brain-dead patient. That work, along with Slayman’s experience, is making a strong case for the role of pig organs in addressing the shortage of organs for thousands of patients on waiting lists. More than 100,000 people are placed on the kidney transplant waiting list in the U.S. each year, while only 20,000 kidneys are available. The Mass General Brigham team hopes to perform more of these transplants to get a better idea of how long the pig kidneys can function and whether they can meaningfully extend the length and quality of patients' lives. For now, says Williams, patients on the waiting list or dialysis could potentially benefit from receiving a pig kidney temporarily as they wait for a human one. Even such bridging can be critical for patients like Slayman; while he had been on dialysis, he experienced clotting issues that compromised the blood flow required to make it effective and required dozens of surgeries to improve his circulation. Pig kidneys could become a realistic option for people like him for whom dialysis becomes too challenging. The long-term hope is that pig kidneys may even become a substitute for human organs if they prove up to the task. “We never anticipated dialysis would become a lifelong solution for kidney failure,” said Dr. Leonardo Riella, medial director of kidney transplantation at Mass General Brigham and lead investigator of the trial. “Yet this is the stark reality for over 600,000 patients in the U.S.; dialysis has sadly become their last resort for managing their disease. Now picture a different narrative, one where healthy kidneys are readily available for transplantation. Today we are offering a glimmer of hope that may one day be possible for many more patients.” ## Transcript [00:00] we announced today the successful completion of the first big [00:05] Gene edited kidney transplant it into a human living being [00:11] this is a major breakthrough in transplanting Shannon since [00:14] we have so many patients waiting for a kidney transplant [00:17] the deceased donor this and many of them will never reach the [00:20] top of the list actually get a kidney transplant. [00:22] So this would add a lot of Hope to these patients that will [00:26] have Alternatives in the near future. [00:29] So did the patient was struggling during dialysis because [00:33] if he's like a vascular access he had was having closer to 3 surgeries [00:38] a month to keep that access open. [00:41] So he went into dialysis the kidney last Saturday. [00:45] He has me off dialysis. [00:47] And today is the day we're going to remove his basketball [00:50] on his life lion that has kept him alive through dialysis [00:54] because he doesn't need it the kidneys able to completely [00:56] control all his minerals all is water balance and there's [01:01] no need for dialysis pigs and humans have certain incompatibility [01:05] even do the kidney works exactly the same if you transplant [01:09] a big kid need your human. [01:10] There's an immediate rejection of that kid over the years. [01:15] A lot of research when they're suit exactly what were the causes [01:18] of these projections and what are some of the incompatibilities [01:21] and with a major breakthrough in the gene editing tool such [01:27] as crisper cast nine we have be able now to Target do a laser [01:31] change in the pig stains in order to make them more compatible [01:35] to humans. And this is what we were able to do it. [01:38] There was 69 Jean added dreams. [01:42] They're 69 Etta James on this pig. [01:46] They make it much more compatible to humans allowing us to do [01:49] this transference and make it a successful. [01:51] Very frequent questions that we get is why did we choose a p why [01:56] didn't we choose a monkey or some other animal zoo pigs are very [02:02] similar in size does humans not only that the kidney function [02:06] is almost exactly the same so and most important they breathe [02:11] very rapidly so that we are able to grow these pickaninnies [02:17] space into a very contained environment without any risk of infection [02:22] so different than a wild pig these pigs have been cloned. [02:27] They're from a specific strain a place called you cut. [02:31] These are mini pigs smaller than the usual fix and they have [02:35] been generic. They have you change the specific genes and and [02:40] introduce than into a pregnancy in a [02:42] In this you gotten a strain in order for us to have very similar [02:47] and genetically modified pigs to using transportation. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6959197/first-pig-kidney-transplant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6959197/first-pig-kidney-transplant/"},"headline":"A Man Has Received the First Pig-Kidney Transplant","datePublished":"2024-03-21T19:40:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:40:46.779Z","description":"The Massachusetts man is doing well and is expected to leave the hospital soon.","url":"https://time.com/6959197/first-pig-kidney-transplant/","keywords":["medicine","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt398fb04dea24b36b/698a5507d075339f57e709af/20240316_mcr_kidney_transplant_188.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt398fb04dea24b36b/698a5507d075339f57e709af/20240316_mcr_kidney_transplant_188.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"20240316_mcr_kidney_transplant_188","caption":"Massachusetts General Hospital; Mass General; MGH; PHOTO ASSIGNMENT Project description Drs. 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