GistNexus – April 12, 2025
In a historic leap for xenotransplantation, 53-year-old Alabama woman Towana Looney survived 130 days with a genetically modified pig kidney before it was taken out on April 4 due to symptoms of organ rejection. Although the results were not what they had hoped for, Looney’s role in the historic procedure has opened doors for modern medicine, providing vital information about a potential future where shortages of organs may no longer prove life-threatening.
Towana Looney’s Brave Quest
Looney was tethered to dialysis for nearly a decade, a routine but necessary process following kidney failure. It was brought on by preeclampsia, a potentially fatal pregnancy complication that ravaged her one remaining kidney — the other she had given altruistically to save her mother in 1999.
When conventional sources of transplants were beyond her reach due to complications and there was no suitable donor in view, Looney made the revolutionary move: becoming the third person in history to receive a kidney transplant from a genetically modified pig.
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In late November of 2024, surgeons at NYU Langone Transplant Institute performed the xenotransplant, implanting a pig kidney that had been engineered with ten specific gene edits in an effort to make it compatible with human biology. It was the first time that this more sophisticated version of a pig kidney, a UKidney, was used on a living human.
Looney’s recovery was against the odds. She was discharged 11 days after surgery and stayed in a nearby apartment to allow for daily monitoring. For four months, she was free of dialysis — the longest any human has ever lived with a pig organ.
For the first time since 2016, I had time with loved ones and friends without scheduling dialysis treatments,” Looney wrote in a statement. “Even though the result was not what anyone had wished for, I know that much was gained from my 130 days with a pig kidney — and that this can help and inspire many other people in their fight against kidney disease.”.
Her changes were not merely physically significant but also symbolically meaningful, with the potential of inspiring hope to more than 90,000 Americans on a waiting list to receive a kidney transplant.
The Complication: What Went Wrong
Although initially well, Looney’s condition changed in early April. According to Dr. Robert Montgomery, NYU Langone Transplant Institute director, loss of kidney function resulted from acute rejection.
What triggered the rejection episode after a long history of stability is being actively investigated,” Dr. Montgomery stated. He said the rejection appeared to follow appropriately required reduction in immunosuppressive therapy, which was cut back to treat an unrelated infection.
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Facing the fine line balancing between the treatment of the infection and rejection of the organ, Looney’s doctors and she made the painful choice: the pig kidney was removed, and she returned to dialysis.
“Made. was that safest would be to remove the kidney and return on dialysis rather than to give more immunosuppression,” Montgomery explained. “This leaves future doors of transplantation ajar as understanding and progress are made.”
A Giant Leap in Xenotransplantation
Despite the fact that the kidney was removed, researchers are referring to Looney’s case as a giant leap for xenotransplantation — the transplantation of animal organs into humans.
The pig kidney she received had been genetically modified ten times to avoid rejection and promote compatibility with the human immune system. The organ was developed by United Therapeutics Corporation, a biotech firm that is pioneering the xenotransplantation revolution.
United Therapeutics emphasized that the kidney was operating well prior to the rejection. “Existing data show that the UKidney was working optimally up until the moment of rejection, which appears to have been caused by a reduction of immunosuppression throughout infection not related to the xenokidney,” the company indicated.
They also eagerly await publication by the medical team at NYU of additional results in an imminent peer-reviewed article.
Compassionate Use and the Organ Shortage Crisis
As per U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) law on “compassionate use,” experimental therapy can be given when no other suitable alternative exists. Looney’s situation fit under that category, referencing the desperate shortage of donor kidneys in America.
Each day, about 13 individuals perish awaiting a kidney transplant. The wait time averages three to five years, and dialysis, though life-preserving, does only a small percentage of what a healthy kidney does. Dialysis patients have a 50% mortality rate within five years of beginning treatment.
Xenotransplantation may be a game-changer
Pig organs are structurally and functionally the same as human organs, and because pigs can breed very quickly, their organs can be manufactured in bulk. With the aid of cutting-edge gene-editing technology, researchers can now reduce the risk of rejection by editing the pig genome to make it more compatible with the human body.
FDA Clears Path for Clinical Trials
In a historic regulatory first, United Therapeutics received FDA clearance in February 2025 to initiate the first human clinical trials using the identical genetically engineered pig kidneys that Looney had received.
The first trial will feature six patients who have end-stage kidney disease and should start up sometime in 2025. Assuming success, the trial should go on to have as many as 50 patients. The goal is then that pig-to-human kidney transplant might become part of the general suite of standard treatment options a decade from now.
Tribute to Towana’s Courage
Looney’s agreement to have performed on her such a groundbreaking surgery has received praise from physicians, scientists, and activists nationwide.
“Towana’s bravery to journey into the unknown to help end the nation’s organ shortage crisis will touch many more lives than hers,” said Dr. Montgomery. “She lived with a pig kidney longer than any other human being in existence, and the medical community has learned much from her.”
United Therapeutics seconded that, calling Looney “a true pioneer” in their statement. “Her bravery has made great strides in the science of xenotransplantation and adds to the foundational knowledge made possible by the work of other patients,” the company said. “We have Mrs. Looney and her family in our prayers, and we hope she recovers quickly.”
Hope for the Future
Back in Alabama, Looney is again adjusting to life on dialysis. However, her spirit remains unbroken, and gratitude towards the medical team is evident.
She is not just a guinea pig of an experimental procedure — she is now a beacon of hope to thousands of patients who are waiting patiently for another lease of life.
With FDA-approved clinical trials on the horizon, the notion that gene-edited pig organs can become a very real alternative to human donation no longer seems like science fiction. It seems like an inevitability.
And it all started with one woman answering yes when the world needed a pioneer.
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Reported by GistNexus Health Correspondent and Edited by Mr. Chibueze Onwuka