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Lisa Pisano, the first recipient of a mechanical heart pump and gene-supported pig kidney, died Sunday, according to NY Langone Health, who performed the surgery.
Pisano received the transplant on April 12, but the organ failed due to limited blood flow. removed May 29.
Her case is the first reported organ transplant in a person with a mechanical heart pump, NYU Langone said.
Pisano was a brave and gentle man, Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, said in a statement Tuesday.
she had he said. At a news conference after the procedure, even if the transplant didn't work for her, it might for the next person.
“At least someone will benefit from this,” she said.
“Lisa's contribution to medicine, surgery and xenotransplantation cannot be overstated,” Montgomery said Tuesday. … Lisa has helped bring us closer to realizing a future where one person does not have to die for another person.
Every eight minutes, another person is added to the transplant waiting list, and 17 people die each day waiting for an organ, according to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Xenotransplantation, which involves the use of organs from other species, may be a solution to the shortage of donor organs. Experts say.
Doctors in the US occasionally perform xenotransplants with approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. For Pisano, the approval came as a result of the agency's expanded access, or “compassionate use,” policy, which allows terminally ill patients with no other treatment options to get access to experimental medical products.
Due to Pisano's congestive heart failure and end-stage kidney disease, she was unable to undergo a routine transplant that required dialysis, NYU Langone said in a news release.
Before the xenotransplant, Pisano said, “they tried everything else” and during the operation she hoped to spend time with her grandchildren and play with them.
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The pig kidney she received was genetically modified to detect and attack human antibodies, specifically foreign bodies. The pig's thymus gland, which plays an immune role, was placed under the cover of the pig's kidney to help it receive Pisano's organ.
However, the kidney was removed in May because it “no longer contributed enough to sustain the immune system,” Montgomery said. he said. at the time.
“Valor has given hope to thousands of people with end-stage kidney or heart failure who may soon be able to benefit from an alternative organ delivery system,” Pisano said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Her pioneering legacy will live on and she will forever be remembered for her courage and good nature.”