The only person in the world with a functioning pig organ is thriving after a record 2 months

An Alabama woman passed a milestone Saturday to become the longest living recipient Pig organ transplantation -She has been healthy and full of energy with her new kidney for 61 days and counting.

“I’m a superwoman,” Tawana Looney told The Associated Press, laughing at outpacing her family members on long walks around New York City as she continues her recovery. “It’s a new outlook on life.”

Lonnie’s vibrant recovery is a morale booster in his pursuit Organ transplants from animals to humans are a reality. Only four other Americans have received massive experimental transplants of genetically engineered pig organs – Two hearts and Two kidneys -No one lived more than two months.

“If you saw her on the street, you would have no idea she was the only person in the world walking around with a functioning pig organ inside her,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery of NYU Langone Health, who led Lonnie’s transplant.

Montgomery described Lonnie’s kidney function as “completely normal.” Doctors hope she can leave New York – where she is temporarily living for post-transplant checkups – for her home in Gadsden, Alabama, in about another month.

“We are very optimistic that this will continue to work and do well for a long period of time,” he said.

Scientists are Genetically modified pigs So their organs became more human-like to address the severe shortage of transplantable human organs. There are more than 100,000 people on the transplant list in the United States, most of them needing a kidney, and thousands are dying waiting for them.

Pig organ transplants have so far been considered “compassionate use” cases, experiments that the Food and Drug Administration only allows in special circumstances for people who have no other options.

A handful of hospitals trying it are sharing information about what worked and what didn’t, in preparation for the world’s first formal studies on transplanting organs for foreigners, which are expected to begin sometime this year. United Therapeutics, which supplied Looney’s kidney, recently asked the Food and Drug Administration for permission to begin the trial.

Dr. Tatsuo Kawai of Massachusetts General Hospital, who led the global study, said how Lonnie coped was an “extremely valuable experience.” The first pig kidney He transplanted last year and works with another pig developer, eGenesis.

Kawai noted that Loni was healthier than previous patients, so her progress will help guide next attempts. “We have to learn from each other,” he added.

Lonnie donated her kidney to her mother in 1999. Subsequent pregnancy complications caused high blood pressure that damaged her remaining kidney, which eventually failed, which is extremely rare among living donors. She spent eight years on dialysis before doctors concluded she would likely never receive a donor organ, as she had developed very high levels of antibodies abnormally primed to attack another human kidney.

So Lonnie, 53, sought out pigs. No one knew how it would work in someone who was “hypersensitive” to those hyperactive antibodies.

Just 11 days after her Nov. 25 surgery, Montgomery’s team closely tracked her recovery through blood tests and other measurements. About three weeks after the transplant, they noticed subtle signs that rejection had begun, signs they had learned to look for thanks to a 2023 experience When a pig’s kidney functioned for 61 days inside a deceased man, his body was donated for research.

Montgomery said they successfully treated Lonnie and she has shown no sign of rejection since – she met up a few weeks ago The family behind this search for deceased bodies.

“It feels really good to know that the decision I made about using NYU for my brother was the right one and he is helping people,” said Mary Miller Duffy, of Newburgh, New York.

Lonnie, in turn, tries to help others, serving as what Montgomery calls an ambassador for people who reach out to her on social media, sharing their struggles with long waits for organ transplants and asking about pig kidneys.

One of them was being considered for a xenotransplant at another hospital, but was afraid, wondering whether to continue, she said.

“I didn’t want to convince him whether to do it or not,” Looney said. Instead, she asked him if he was religious and urged him to pray, “to let go of your faith, and what your heart tells you.”

“I like talking to people, and I like helping people,” she added. “I want to be an educational piece” for scientists to help others.

There’s no way to predict how long Lonnie’s new kidney will work, but if it fails, she can go on dialysis again.

“The truth is we don’t really know what the next hurdles are because this is the first time we’ve gotten this far,” Montgomery said. “We will have to continue to monitor it closely.”

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