The first living person received a pig kidney transplant and he was discharged from the hospital. He went home Wednesday. He's doing fine. Subscribe so you’ll never miss my latest videos.
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The patient, Rick Slaman, is out of the hospital. He has a long road of recovery, rehabilitation, and monitoring ahead, but his operation was historic and his progress in the days since unprecedented.
This video is intended to be informational only. It is not a medical consultation, nor is it personalized medical advice. For medical advice, please consult your physician.
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This morning, Rick Slayman is waking up in his own bed after receiving the world's first successful transplant of a genetically modified pig's kidney into a human. The 62-year-old was discharged from Massachusetts General Hospital Wednesday, saying his recovery is progressing smoothly just 18 days after the groundbreaking operation.
More than 90,000 people are on the waitlist for a kidney in the U.S., but less than 16,000 are transplanted annually. On average, 13 patients die every day while they wait. Yeah, that is absolutely amazing. So yeah, we've had our first successful pig kidney transplant.
The genetically modified pig kidney was donated by a biotech company that apparently was co-founded by Harvard Medical Scientists or HMS. And here's what they did in order to get that pig kidney ready, Shadore. They genetically modified it, meaning they took some of the genes and they edited them or knocked them out of the pig to help the pig kidney be more compatible with the human.
It was a four-hour surgery and it looks like he's doing well. So fingers crossed prayers up because here's the implication. As they mentioned, a lot of people need kidneys. Okay. And there are about 16,000 kidney transplants a year, which means that of the 90,000, most of them are going to die while waiting for a transplant. And when you talk about all transplants, not just kidneys, 17 people die each day while waiting for a transplant.
Most of those patients are kidney patients because the kidney is the most sought-after organ. So make sure, you know, consult with your physician, and consider being an organ donor. And there's a lot of misinformation about being an organ donor, Shadore. I know, you know, I encounter it in our office all the time. Some people think that if they donate a kidney, then they'll be stuck with just half of their kidney function, right? But no, if you donate your kidney, you're a healthy person, that one kidney you have left will will bulk up and do the work of two kidneys. You only need one kidney to live and to live well. And the transplant centers are actually quite protective of people who want to donate. If you have diabetes, they won't let you donate. If you have lupus, they won't let you donate. If you have high blood pressure that's controlled, you know, not on too many medicines, you may still potentially be able to donate. But if you have uncontrolled hypertension, they won't let you do it. Get this. If you get in there and you realize that psychologically you're really not ready to give the kidney, they won't let you donate. And they'll protect you because they won't tell that potential kidney patient, the kidney recipient, the reason. So. Just, you know, please consider being an organ donor. I'm an organ donor.
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But there's a lot of health disparities, Shadore, when it comes to transplantation. It's very expensive, right? to get transplants. And so a lot of people who have low income and a lot of people, quite frankly, Black people, Latino people, different people in marginalized communities get fewer kidney transplants. And so the hope is that with this pig kidney, if this is something that works out, then perhaps more people will be able to get transplants. We save more lives. We help to close that health gap, that racial inequality gap, that income inequality gap, that health equity gap. So that is what's going on with the pig kidney transplant. Now, again, as you come on in, make sure you like this video, share this video, tell a friend to tell a friend, but press three.
If either you have CKD or if you have kidney disease, or if you know of someone if you know of someone, about 37 million Americans have kidney disease. One out of three is at risk.