Doctors at Northwestern Medicine in Illinois have pulled off a medical first that could make organ transplants a much easier ordeal to endure. They were able to perform a kidney transplant in a 28-year-old man without the use of general anesthesia. The surgery went so well that the man was discharged less than a day…
Another milestone in pig-to-human transplantation has been crossed, with doctors at New York University Langone today announcing the world’s first combination pig kidney and heart pump transplant. The recipient is a 54-year-old woman named Lisa Pisano who was diagnosed with terminal kidney disease and heart failure.
A Texas hospital has shut down its organ transplant program after discovering that a doctor allegedly made “inappropriate changes” to medical records that would have made certain patients ineligible for operations.
The new era of animal-to-human kidney transplantation is off to a good start. On Wednesday, 62-year-old Richard Slayman, the world’s first living human recipient of a genetically modified pig kidney, was able to go home from the hospital. Slayman’s new kidney appears to be functioning as expected two weeks…
An experimental liver-growing treatment is facing its biggest test in humans yet. This week, biotech company LyGenesis announced that it has just begun a phase II trial of its therapy designed to grow miniature livers inside a person’s lymph nodes. If the therapy works as hoped, it could potentially save the lives of…
Doctors made medical history by successfully transplanting a whole eye. The donated eye has reportedly survived inside the patient for six months with no major issues so far and shows signs of good health. At this point, however, the patient has not regained any functional sight as a result.
Research out this week appears to show the potential longevity of transplanted organs from genetically engineered pigs. Scientists gave monkeys kidneys from these animals, finding that some were able to live for one to two years. Many of the genetic changes evaluated in this study could make pig-to-human transplants a…
58-year-old Lawrence Faucette has become a medical milestone this month, being only the second living person in the world to have received a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig.
A lab-made antibody could one day make organ transplants less of an ordeal, recent research suggests. In experiments with nonhuman primates, the antibody appeared to be safe and effective at preventing the rejection of transplanted kidneys and pancreatic cells. Scientists hope that this treatment could reduce or even…
Surgeons at New York University have reportedly reached another milestone in making pig-to-human organ transplants a reality. They now claim to have transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney that has survived inside a human body for six weeks and counting—the longest period yet. It’s likely that larger clinical…
