Lisa Pisano the first person with mechanical circulatory support (which helps the heart pump blood around the body) to receive a pig kidney transplant died last Sunday (7). The information was confirmed by the Langone Health medical center, at New York University, where she underwent surgery.
Pisano, who was 54, received the transplant on April 12, but the organ failed and had to be removed on May 29.
Hers was the first case of organ transplantation in a person with mechanical circulatory support and the second involving the transplantation of a genetically modified pig kidney transferred to a human being, the first containing the animal’s thymus gland.
The first transplant of a pig kidney into a human was performed in March of this year, by a Brazilian doctor, in the United States.
According to Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the Langone Transplant Institute, “Pisano was courageous and selfless,” the doctor said in a statement released Tuesday (9).
At a press conference shortly after the procedure, Pisano said that even if the transplant didn’t work for her, it might work for the next person. “At least someone will benefit from this,” she said.
According to the statement, Montgomery said that “Lisa’s contributions to medicine, surgery and xenotransplantation cannot be overstated… Lisa has helped us move closer to a future where one person does not have to die for another person to survive.”
Every eight minutes, another person is added to the transplant waiting list. And 17 people on that list die every day while waiting for an organ, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Xenotransplantation, which involves using organs from other species, is a potential solution to the shortage of available donor organs, experts say.
Doctors in the United States perform xenotransplants in rare cases, with permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the country’s regulatory body. According to Pisano, the authorization came through the agency’s expanded access or “compassionate use” policy, which allows terminally ill patients with no other options to have access to experimental medical procedures.
Because of Pisano’s heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, which requires daily dialysis, she was unable to undergo a standard procedure. Before the xenotransplant, Pisano said she had “tried everything,” and with the surgery, she hoped she would have more time to spend with her grandchildren.
The pig kidney she received was genetically altered to evade human antibodies, which typically detect and attack foreign bodies. The pig’s thymus gland, which plays a key role in immunity, was placed under the pig kidney’s covering to further help Pisano’s body accept the organ.
However, the kidney was removed in May after it was determined that it was “no longer contributing sufficiently to justify continuing the immunosuppression regimen,” Montgomery said at the time.
“Pisano’s courage has given hope to thousands of people living with end-stage kidney or heart failure who may soon benefit from an alternative organ supply,” the doctor continued in the statement on Tuesday (9).
“Her legacy as a pioneer will live on and she will always be remembered for her courage and good nature.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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