Current:Home > StocksGrandmother who received first-ever combined heart pump and pig kidney transplant dies at 54 -Aspire Money Growth
Grandmother who received first-ever combined heart pump and pig kidney transplant dies at 54
View
Date:2025-04-28 01:07:23
A grandmother died on Sunday, months after she received a combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant, according to the hospital that performed the surgeries.
Lisa Pisano, 54, was suffering from heart and kidney failure before the surgeries and was ineligible for a human transplant. She received the heart pump, called an LVAD, on April 4 and the pig kidney transplant on April 12. In May, 47 days after the transplant, doctors removed the genetically engineered organ because it was interfering with her blood flow.
"Lisa's contributions to medicine, surgery, and xenotransplantation cannot be overstated," Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, said in a statement Tuesday. "Her legacy as a pioneer will live on and she will forever be remembered for her courage and good nature."
Before the two procedures, Pisano faced heart failure and end-stage kidney disease that required routine dialysis.
"I was pretty much done," Pisano told CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook, who is also a professor at NYU Langone, in an April interview. "I couldn't go up the stairs. I couldn't drive. I couldn't play with my grandkids. So when this opportunity came to me I was taking it."
After the procedures, she told LaPook she felt "great today compared to other days."
Around 104,000 people in the U.S. are on the waiting list for a transplant, with more than 80% of those patients waiting for a kidney, NYU Langone said. Across the U.S., nearly 808,000 people are suffering from end-stage kidney disease, but only about 27,000 received transplants last year.
Pisano's implant was only the second transplant of a gene-edited pig kidney into a living person, the hospital said. Surgeons had previously tested a pig kidney transplant on brain-dead patients.
In March, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston transplanted a pig kidney into 62-year-old Rick Slayman. He died in May. The hospital said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.
Montgomery said Pisano's bravery in trying a genetically modified pig kidney gave hope to people awaiting transplants about the possibility of an alternative supply of organs.
"Lisa helped bring us closer to realizing a future where someone does not have to die for another person to live," the doctor said.
Historically, animal-to-human transplants have not been compatible, Montgomery told LaPook in 2021 after a transplant.
"When you cross species with a transplant and it happens immediately, humans have preformed antibodies circulating in their blood," he said. "And so when you put an organ from a pig into a human, it's immediately rejected."
The pig kidney Pisano received was genetically engineered to "knock out" the gene responsible for the production of a sugar known as alpha-gal, NYU Langone said in April. Studies have shown that removing the alpha-gal can prevent the reaction that causes an immediate rejection of the transplanted organ.
"By using pigs with a single genetic modification, we can better understand the role one key stable change in the genome can have in making xenotransplantation a viable alternative," Montgomery said in a statement earlier this year. "Since these pigs can be bred and do not require cloning like more-complex gene edits, this is a sustainable, scalable solution to the organ shortage. If we want to start saving more lives quickly, using fewer modifications and medications will be the answer."
- In:
- Organ Transplant
Aliza Chasan is a Digital Content Producer for "60 Minutes" and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.
TwitterveryGood! (326)
Related
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Jared Goff leads Lions to first playoff win in 32 years, 24-23 over Matthew Stafford and the Rams
- Wisconsin Republicans’ large majorities expected to shrink under new legislative maps
- Fake 911 report of fire at the White House triggers emergency response while Biden is at Camp David
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Texas physically barred Border Patrol agents from trying to rescue migrants who drowned, federal officials say
- Tina Fey says she and work 'wife' Amy Poehler still watch 'SNL' together
- A quiet Dutch village holds clues as European politics veer to the right
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Pope acknowledges resistance to same-sex blessings but doubles down: ‘The Lord blesses everyone’
Ranking
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Judge says Trump can wait a week to testify at sex abuse victim’s defamation trial
- Longest playoff win droughts in NFL: Dolphins, Raiders haven't won in postseason in decades
- Shipping container buildings may be cool — but they're not always green
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Emergency federal aid approved for Connecticut following severe flooding
- NFL playoff schedule: Divisional-round dates, times, TV info
- Tunisia commemorates anniversary of the 2011 revolution. Opposition decries democratic backsliding
Recommendation
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Lindsay Lohan Disappointed By Joke Seemingly Aimed at Her in New Mean Girls Movie
In Uganda, refugees’ need for wood ravaged the forest. Now, they work to restore it
Packers vs. Cowboys highlights: How Green Bay rolled to stunning beatdown over Dallas
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Jared Goff leads Lions to first playoff win in 32 years, 24-23 over Matthew Stafford and the Rams
Joyce Randolph, 'Honeymooners' actress in beloved comedy, dies at 99
Former presidential candidate Doug Burgum endorses Trump on eve of Iowa caucuses