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April 4 (UPI) -- Rick Slayman, the man who received the world's transplanted genetically edited pig kidney at Massachusetts General Hospital, is home Thursday after being discharged Wednesday. Slayman, 62, said in a statement that his recovery was "progressing smoothly" and that his release marked a "new beginning" for himself and the doctors who performed the surgery.
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"This moment -- leaving the hospital today with one of the cleanest bills of health I've had in a long time -- is one I wished would come for many years," Slayman said. "Now, it's a reality and one of the happiest moments of my life. I want to thank everyone at Massachusetts General Hospital who cared for me before and after my historic transplant, especially Dr. Williams, Dr. Riella, Dr. Kawai, and the countless nurses who looked after me every day of my stay."
He requested privacy as he continues to recover at home.
Slayman had end-stage kidney disease when he got the transplant. He had suffered from diabetes and hypertension as well for many years. HIs dialysis treatments were no longer working.
The March 16 surgery lasted for four hours. He got the surgery after a transplanted human kidney had failed.
"He was completely exhausted at the failures that he was experiencing in dialysis," said Dr. Winfred Williams, Associate Chair of MGH Nephrology Division, in a statement. "The other thing he said, 'I'm hoping that it can do some good for me.' And I knew that if it did work, it would restore his quality of life. But he also said, I can also do good for others coming behind me."
The pig kidney came from eGenesis of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It had 69 genomic edits using the CRISPR-Cas9 technology to remove harmful pig genes and to add certain human genes to improve human compatibility.
